Latex Lore
by shadowlugia249
Summary: A Balloon TF Series. When a Shadow Lugia balloon starts planning revenge against the world, a series of strange events leads to the most unusual revolution the world has ever seen...
1. Chapter 1: The Inflation Begins

**Latex Lore Chapter 1: The Inflation Begins**

_By shadowlugia249_

Author's Note: After the overwhelming success of my "Latexed Lugia" story, I couldn't just stop there. I had to continue this unusual idea. I decided to make my very own series involving balloon animals. I decided to start with a remake of the original story but with a special twist to it. See if you can spot the new arrival! Enjoy!

Karmen Aridos was sifting through his usual paperwork one dull Friday morning when he came across an envelope with an unusual sliver-white-colored outside. He shifted the papers that were on top of it and took it in his wrinkled hands.

It read: "To Mr. Karmen Aridos Plushtopia". And at the bottom, he read the senders – "Sirius and Rye: The Latexed Lugia."

Aridos smiled to himself and stared at the package for a moment. He remembered Sirius and Rye. Rye had been one of his favorite customers that had taken home a special item that he had sold called a "Latexed Lugia" – a pre-made balloon molded into the shape of the birds of legend known as the Lugia clan. After inflating it, Rye had developed a relationship with the Lugia who called herself "Sirius" and in the end, he had been changed into a Balloon Lugia himself. And since they were not bound by normal Lugian standards, they had been free to explore the world as they pleased. It looked like they were sending him a souvenir of their travels.

Aridos slit the envelope open and tipped the contents onto his desk. There were only two items: a package similar to the one he had sold the original Balloon Lugia in and a note on a piece of shiny, silver-white paper. He figured that he should read the note first, so he unfolded it and read it to himself.

Dear Mr. Aridos,

Greeting from Sirius and Rye, the Latexed Lugia! We are living up in the mountains near Utah and we send our congratulations for bringing the two of us together the way you did. Life as balloon animals has not hindered our relationship in the slightest and we are considering returning to Minnesota to visit sometime.

During our self-induced exile, we were fortunate enough to be able to have our very own children. Months of rubber and latex consummation have allowed us to form three very fine Balloon Lugia children. Two of them turned out to be the best presents we could ever receive. But it was the third one that has alarmed us slightly.

We cannot explain it, but there seems to be something wrong with this one. It does not like to join with the rest of our family at times and it seems secluded to some degree. Not only are there mental abnormalities but physical ones as well. We feel unsafe to care for it while our other ones are blowing up.

(Author's Note: "Blowing up" is the balloon version of saying "growing up". It only makes sense once you think about it.)

So as a precaution, we have sent this unusual one to you so that you may study it and possibly give it a new home. It pains us greatly to part with it, but we feel that you will do the right thing for it.

Please be careful. This one is a little strange in its personality and it is much more capable than it looks and it should only be given to someone who is very compatible with it. We hope that you do the right thing and we hope to see you again someday.

Best wishes,

The signature was signed with a pair of rounded three-toed paw prints dipped in blue ink. This was the only part of it that looked like it had been manually written; the rest had been typed.

Aridos looked through the package at the deflated Balloon Lugia inside. Other than a slightly different shade on the package, he could not tell the difference. But if it was enough to cause Sirius and Rye trouble, he had to consider the possibility that it was dangerous. He would have to study it for a while before he put it on sale in his shop. Until then, he needed to tread lightly when working with this one.

(This story takes place shortly after when "Aridos' Magical Medleys" became "Plushtopia".)

My name is Alex Schaefer and at the moment, I was on my own, awaiting some kind of miracle. I was living in a cheap apartment that had gone down in value after its previous owner mysteriously vanished from it over two years ago. No one else had wanted to buy it except for me. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so ignoring local superstition, I promptly moved in as soon as I could so that I could begin living on my own.

I had a normal job stocking shelves at the local Wal-Mart, which earned me a fairly decent pay for the time being. It earned me enough money for me to fund my regular cable bill, but not much else. I had no computer and no video game systems to keep me occupied and I used all of my extra funds to buy a new movie once in a while for a little variety. Right now, my life really had no meaning to it.

That brings me back to my longing for a miracle. On the day I moved into my apartment, I was looking out of the window that night as I did whenever I had nothing better to do. I was still getting used to living in the city, having come from a rural community, so I was unable to look at the stars like I used to every night. I was just staring out at the endless glare of lights all around me.

Already, I was beginning to miss the endless hours at the farm, lying under the stars in the moonlight and wishing for a better existence in life. I had moved to the city because I couldn't afford to buy an entire house in the countryside. I would stare out into the bright skies and wish that I could be back with my old life.

I was just about to turn in for the night when I saw it. High above the city, just visible in the constant glare of the street lights was a trio of large, bird-like creatures whose feathers made the light of the city wink when it hit them. I was suddenly entranced by their movement. They were too far away to get any real detail off of them, but I watched them anyway. It looked like two of them were dancing in the sky, spinning around and playing an aerial version of tag while a third, much larger one had perched itself on a roof to watch them.

For over an hour, I watched them dance and play, barely having to flap their wings. Their beauty and grace was something I had never seen in any mortal creature before and have never seen since. I dared not look away for fear of losing them forever in the city lights. They were just too wonderful to watch.

And then, just before they disappeared, the third one flew off towards my apartment and halted over a half-mile away from my window. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I felt a small "wink" in my mind followed by a beautiful, eerie song deep in my head. And then with a flash, they all vanished from sight, never to be seen again.

I could not explain why that creature had looked at me, but I felt that my life was about to change forever. There was something about those bird-like beasts that radiated leadership, hope and fate somewhere in my mind. It was like I was destined to meet them again sometime, but I could not be sure when. All I know is that from that day on, my life had been given new meaning.

And now, three months later, I was still praying that I saw those creatures again. Every night, I would stare out of the window at the same time for over an hour before finally giving up and going to bed. I should have given up weeks ago, but for some reason, I could not ignore the feeling that they would return. I had been touched so emotionally by my encounter that I would sometimes find myself absentmindedly humming the song I had heard that fateful day in my free time.

I just hoped and prayed that I would see them again... somehow...

... and then, exactly six months to the day that I saw that elegant display in the sky, I was looking through the free "Sunday Reminder" on a Saturday, looking for deals in movies and whatnot from the local Best Buy. Having found nothing, I flipped to the Classified Ads in the main paper to see what was up for grab in the "Freebies" section. My budget was no more than $50 at the moment and nothing sold for over $35 in this section. I scanned through the old ads first and then turned to the new ones. It was what I saw there that changed everything.

In a small square-inch section of the items for sale, I read the following: "Lugia Balloon – Free to a good home. Call Plushtopia – 1-320-555-0249. Willmar, Minnesota."

Plushtopia? Why did that name sound so familiar? I had to think for a while on this before it finally came to me.

Oh, yeah! Plushtopia was the name of that new toy shop that had opened up on the other side of the street by the mall. In fact, it was within walking distance of my apartment. I can't believe that I never noticed that shop before – it was on the way to the Wal-Mart where I worked; you couldn't miss it.

I had never heard of a "Lugia Balloon" before, but there was something about the name that seemed to ring a bell somewhere inside my mind. It was as if "Lugia" was the name of a long-forgotten friend that I had not seen in a long time, but the memory was still there. Deciding to check it out, I folded the paper and left the apartment for the Plushtopia store.

The front of the store was rather colorful for a toy store. I lost track of how many colors were used in the paint all over the store, but I noticed that there were no windows on it. Then again, not many stores like this _needed_ windows. Pushing the door open, I heard a small bell tinkle overhead.

The inside of the shop looked like the inside of a "Toys 'R Us." There was a decent amount of color painted all over the shop with a lot of colorful merchandise. I noticed that a majority of the shop was devoted to large, stuffed animal plushies. They came in various sizes, shapes and colors that I had never seen before.

There were large, furry creatures with large, feathery wings called "Flammies", there was a medium-sized black-and-white creature called a "Klonoa" and even a massive white-furred dragon with leather gauntlets and helm called a "Windragon". I had never heard of such creatures before, but the detail that the manufacturers had put into the plushies was second to none. Even the feel of their soft, cloth-like bodies made me feel like I was feeling real-life animals but significantly better.

"Can I help you?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin! (Author's Note: Aridos has a tendency to do that.) From out of absolutely nowhere, an aged, shriveled old man with more wrinkles than my late great-grandmother had appeared behind me and had caught me completely off guard. I turned to look at him and saw that he was roughly five feet tall with a distinct hunchback and his arms behind his back. Even though he was shorter than me, I saw that his emerald-green eyes appeared to be much, _much_ younger than he looked. It was like they didn't even belong to him. Huh.

"Can I help you?" he said again, not looking up at me.

"Uh..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to approach this old man. He didn't seem to be the kind that you could really understand. I improvised by pulling out a piece of paper that I had jotted the details of the ad down on. "I heard that you were giving away a "Lugia Balloon" to a good home. Is that right?"

The old man looked me up and down, checking me out for some reason. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not I was worth his time. Finally, he shrugged and looked forward again.

"That's right, but I'm not sure. There seems to be something different about this one."

"Say what?"

The old man frowned. "I got this one as repayment for a good deed, but there seems to be something unusual about this one. It doesn't seem to act like the rest of my merchandise, but I don't think it's dangerous. If you want, I can show you what the balloon looks like fully inflated."

I figured it couldn't hurt. I nodded and the old man shuffled off to the counter near the back of the shop. I followed him and waited for a moment while he disappeared through a door to a back room.

While he was gone, I waited patiently, absentmindedly humming the song that I had heard exactly six months ago when those bird creatures had appeared in the city. It seemed to have burned itself into my mind, disabling my ability to forget even a single note of it.

Soon enough, the old man returned, carrying a balloon on a string. The instant I saw it, I knew I was seeing the same creature I ha seen six moths ago. I recognized that graceful bird-like body with its broad, flipper-like wings. Even though I hadn't seen its _entire_ body, I knew that this was it. Its wings had four flat "finger-like" feathers with a fifth "thumb" underneath the "palms".

It also had two sets of five flat, rectangular plates lining both sides of its spine. And that round/V-shaped mark on its chest seemed to confirm what I was seeing. And at the end of a long, slightly serpentine neck was a pointed head with a smooth, curved beak with two pointed fangs on both its upper and lower jaw.

But for some reason, it was yet wasn't the same creature I had seen before. The pointed "masks" around its eyes was slightly longer than I had expected and its silver eyes had a slight red tint to them where the whites would be. There was also a slight indentation in its forehead and its digitigrade feet had long, pointed talons where its normally round toes were.

But the most noticeable difference between this one and the ones I saw was its coloring. Every place the original had been navy-and-sky-blue, this one was a pale lavender. The rest of its body was a deep, shadowy-purple. It alarmed me that this one looked so... different than the original, but as long as it was close, it was just fine with me.

The old man had the Balloon Lugia tethered to a string by its ankle. It was also only as big as a party balloon, so I was doubting its real size. But he seemed to be reading my mind when he saw my disappointed expression.

"Don't worry. This is only a display model. The real one is much more impressive." _That_ was good. I wouldn't have adopted this one if it hadn't been close to the size I had expected.

"You said in the ad that it was "free to a good home", right? Is that still true?"

The old man nodded. "Very true. I no longer have any use for this model and it makes me happy to see that it is going to a decent home. If you'll just wait here, I'll go get the original version."

I did as he took the prototype back into the back room and disappeared from view for a while. I couldn't wait to take it home and care for it as my very own.

Aridos sighed as he rooted around for the package containing the shadowy Balloon Lugia. He had an aching feeling in his gut that this was going to come back to haunt him, but he felt confident that he had done all he could to purify it. The balloon would be going to a good home and Sirius and Rye would be happy that he did his best. That was all that mattered.

But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong with it. He couldn't change its coloring, but he felt that he had done his best to make it safe. The balloon was going to a good home and Sirius and Rye would be happy.

After wrestling with his self-respect for a while, he finally sighed and carried the package back to Alex. As long as the both of them were happy, that was all he cared about. When he gave the package to him, he told him the rules about owning this one and bid him good day.

The rules were written on a piece of silver paper and were as follows:

One: The balloon had the ability to think for itself and would know if he had mistreated it. Its powers were not something to be taken lightly and might be a little overwhelming at first. But as long as the two of them got along, there was nothing to fear.

Two: The balloon needed to eat as well as every living creature did. It got its energy from various sources of latex. Things like rubber gloves and other balloons would give it the energy to survive. It would be able to be much more resistant to popping once it had consumed enough rubber and latex products.

Three: It had a mind of its own and would know if Alex was mistreating it. If Alex treated it with respect, it would remember those events and be able to repay him sometime down the road. It was just like owning a pet but with a much higher intelligence level.

The last rule was more of a warning. It said that its behavior could be unpredictable and possibly violent, but that was only in extreme cases. Aridos felt confident that it would never get to that level and Alex would be just fine. He could only watch and wait to see if balloon and man would be on the same page the whole way through.

When I got home about 20 minutes later, I immediately made a beeline for the living room where there would be plenty of room for the balloon to grow to its full size. According to the package, this thing could get up to over 20 feet from head to tail. I wanted to make sure it had plenty of room to grow when I blew it up.

Tearing the package open with my teeth, I tipped the deflated balloon into my hand and looked at it. According to the directions, I had to look for its mouth and inflate it from there. This was not your average balloon animal as I had seen back at the shop, so inflating it required special attention. It was difficult to find the mouth in its current deflated state, but I finally found the lavender mask over its eyes and pried open its mouth. Taking a few test breaths, I inhaled deeply and began to pump my lungs into the balloon.

It started to fill out with air at an alarming speed. Just a single breath seemed to add a good six inches to its girth and soon, it was about the size of the prototype in the store. The rubbery skin started to stretch and flex as I filled it with even more air. It looked like I was giving CPR to a rubber dummy, and in a way, that was true. I was breathing life into this balloon animal, thus giving it its shape and size.

Soon, it was as large as I was tall and it started to slow down in its growing. And just when I couldn't blow anymore, it stopped growing entirely and I closed its mouth after shutting the flap in the back of its throat. I stood back to examine my work.

Other than the fact that it was five times as big as its prototype counterpart, the detail of the balloon was amazing! I had never seen such a rich, deep violet in all my life and the detail of the balloon itself was amazing. Every square inch of it was filled with my own breath; there was no flat parts anywhere. And since it hadn't blown itself out of proportions so that it looked fatter than normal, it was indeed a work of art.

I stared at the "Shadow Lugia" for a while before I wanted to know how it felt. Taking off my shirt so that I could get the full feeling, I took the balloon in my arms and pressed my belly against its own. It was smooth, flexible, rubbery and warm, just like I had expected it to be. It felt nice against my inferior human skin and I ran my hands up and down its back, feeling each of its rubbery back plates. I did not see the balloon wrap its left wing around my back and stroke me gently in return, a small grin stretching across its beak.

When I had had enough, I detached myself from it and stood eye-to-eye with it. I put my shirt back on and smiled at it.

"I guess you deserve a bite to eat. I think I have some rubber cleaning gloves somewhere around here. Hold on."

The balloon stared blankly in one direction as I went to my bathroom to rummage around under the sink. I knew I had some bulk rubber cleaning gloves here and I figured that the balloon would like something to eat.

After some digging, I found the box and carried it out to the living room. The balloon was still bobbing there and staring off it the direction its eyes had been made in. I smiled at it and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and held it up to the Lugia.

"How does that smell? You must be starving after all that time in that bag. Help yourself if you want."

I gave it the chance to take the gloves for its own, but I didn't expect it to respond. But when the balloon looked at my offering and sniffed it for a moment, I was caught completely off-guard when it lunged forward and snapped the snack right out of my hand! I immediately pulled my hand backwards as it chewed the gloves for a moment before swallowing them. It then turned to look straight at me and spoke for the first time.

"That was very good. You seem to know just what I like. You will make a perfect follower."

I wasn't sure what was more unbelievable – the fact that it ate right out of my hand or that it was speaking directly to me. All I could do was watch as the Balloon Lugia started walking around me, looking me up and down.

"Hmm... fairly decent build, devotion to my species, willingness to do whatever you're told. Yes... you'll do fine."

I hadn't budged an inch while it was examining me. I didn't want to startle it and give it reason to harm me. The note had said that its behavior could be unpredictable and violent, so I tried not to antagonize it.

It seemed to be reading my mind because it frowned and spun me around with its wing so that I was looking right at it. "You do not need to fear me, Alex Schaefer. As long as you follow my instructions, I will not harm you. You have always wanted to see a Lugia for yourself, and I'm willing to work with you as long as you obey me."

It was a little awkward to see an inanimate object commanding a human like me, but even impossible things can come true. I nodded towards it and waited for it to give me my orders. It was like it had some kind of hold on me that I couldn't break.

The Balloon Lugia smiled and put its wing on my shoulder. "You seem to be thinking of me as a threat. You do not need to fear. I will be your friend, Alex. Just relax and I will not harm you."

It escorted me over to my couch and gently sat me down. I was glad that it wasn't going to hurt me; I didn't want to make enemies with a creature as influential as this one.

The balloon then stood in front of me and bowed low with a sweeping motion of its wings and lowering its head. "My name is Darkheart the Balloon Shadow Lugia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Alex Schaefer."

I did not ask how it... "he" knew my name, but I did not argue the point. I was just glad that we were on the same page.

Darkheart smiled and looked at the box of rubber gloves that I had left out. "I feel hungry, Alex. May I have some of those rubber gloves to eat?"

I got up and went over to the box. Plucking a few gloves out of the box, I turned to Darkheart and he sat down on his tail, opening his beak like an obedient dog. Feeling a sense of happiness, I tossed one of the gloves into the air, watching him snap it up in his beak and swallow it whole. I watched the glove slide down his translucent throat towards the center of his belly where it stopped in the middle of it. It then started to break apart as he seemed to be digesting it. The result was the creation of a milky liquid the same thickness and color of the glove. The liquid then spread out throughout his system like it was flowing through blood vessels where it split more and more and became thinner and thinner. Soon, the liquid had become so thin and spread out that it completely disappeared from sight and I knew that he had absorbed all of the nutrients it contained.

Darkheart noticed me watching him and looked down at his belly, smiling for some reason. "It's a miracle of magic, isn't it? In the end, that's all I really am." He then looked at me again. "More."

I shrugged and tossed a few more gloves his way, pausing every so often as he snapped each one up in his beak and swallowed them whole. He seemed to be enjoying the service and I was only too happy to please him. Anything for a bird of destiny, no matter what it was made of.

After Darkheart had consumed about 20 rubber gloves, I heard his insides churn and he let out a belch that smelled exactly like the gloves I had just fed him.

"That will do, Mr. Schaefer. My hunger is sated and I must rest for now."

Darkheart then jumped up on my couch and curled up to go to sleep. I sat there, watching him expand and contract as he breathed deeply before I decided to go back to my room. I felt so honored to have Darkheart in my life that I wanted to get a picture of him on my camera. I owned a super-rare creature and I wanted to save the memory of it forever.

When I got back, Darkheart was still snoozing peacefully. I smiled and raised my camera to my eye level. I turned off the flash so that I wouldn't wake him and snapped a decent picture that captured his entire body curled up on the couch. When it clicked, Darkheart grunted in his sleep and I froze for a moment, holding my breath. There was a tense moment and then Darkheart yawned in his sleep and continued to snooze. Whew.

I didn't want to push it, so I took the camera back into my room and put it away. Maybe when Darkheart woke up, he would let me get some more shots of him. I also had a small camcorder in my possession – maybe I could get some footage of him while he was awake. I wasn't going to sell it, but the next time I went to the local library, I was going to upload it to the Internet so that everyone could learn about Plushtopia.

Careful so as to not make any noise, I tiptoed into the kitchen and put together a bologna sandwich for lunch. Darkheart may eat latex, but I still needed my _own_ form of nutrition.

Shortly after I finished eating, Darkheart began to stir and I watched from the kitchen as he started to wake up. He uncurled and spread his rubbery wings wide while yawning at stretching out his "muscles". Once he was fully awake, he turned to face me directly.

"What would you like to do today, Alex?" It was an innocent question and I had no problems answering it.

"Well... We could go shopping for some food for you."

Darkheart hopped down off the couch with a small bounce upon landing and looked at me with those silver orbs of his. "That would work for me. I could use a variety of foods to eat for the coming week. Very well, but we do this my way."

I was unsure what he was talking about, but he seemed to be reading my mind and walked over to meet me. "It's very simple. I will simply cover your body like a suit so that I will not be seen in the community. No sense in spoiling my coming just yet."

I blinked. How exactly did he plan for me to "wear" him? And after reading my mind again, he held out his wing for me to take it.

"Relax, Alex. I promised that I would not harm you and I am not going to break my word any time soon. Just come over here and I will start the process."

I nervously took his wing and the two of us walked back into the living room. We then turned to face each other eye-to-eye. Darkheart then put both of his wings on my shoulders and gently turned my around. When he was done, he came up behind me and wrapped his wings over my front like a backwards embrace. My heart began to beat faster, but he had assured me that nothing would happen, so I did my best to keep my nerves from shorting out.

"Let your mind flow freely, Alex. Let your body's feeling be released and this will be over before you know it."

I took in a few deep breaths and the process began. Darkheart firmly pressed me against his torso and I suddenly felt like I was entering a massive bubble. The smooth, rubbery texture of Darkheart's skin began to envelop me as he pressed me firmly into his body. I could feel his latex body creeping over my body like a feeling of soft, glossy feathers stroking my skin. I was almost all of the way inside of him when he gave one firm push and I found myself fully inside him. It looked like he had "eaten" me but not really. I was standing inside of him like a full-sized costume.

My first concern was that I would soon run out of air in here, but Darkheart smiled and gave his belly a pat. "Do not fret. There is plenty of air inside of me. Breathe all you want, my friend."

I did just that and I knew that I wasn't going to run out of air anytime soon. It seemed that the inside of Darkheart's body, though filled with carbon dioxide from my breath, was able to produce its own endless supply of air for me to breathe as much as I wanted.

Darkheart's body was also filled with a strange warmth that made me feel super-relaxed and calm. It was like he had his own body heat underneath that cool exterior that made me feel right at home.

Darkheart smiled. "See? I would never let anything happen to you right now. I just want you to be comfortable. Now hold still. This might feel a little strange for you."

He then opened his mouth and began to let the air out of his body, closing his skin in on me. I tried not to get worked up as there was less and less room to move in here. Darkheart's body soon began to lose its definition and shape as his rubbery skin started to mold itself around my own. It was like I was putting on a full-body rubber glove. Within a couple of minutes, Darkheart had completely encased me, leaving just a fraction of a millimeter of clearance all around me.

At the moment, I still had all of Darkheart's coloring, making me look like a giant grape, but that was soon remedied. With a slight ripple in his body, Darkheart's skin changed its tone so that it matched every square inch of my own. I was wearing a suit of my own skin and clothing, but better. His own body had dramatically enhanced the features of my own natural and artificial tones so that I looked much sharper than I did in real life.

Finally, I heard Darkheart talk to me as if he was speaking directly into my ear. "How do you feel, Alex? Can I accessorize or what?"

I moved my arm experimentally, listening to it squeak faintly and ran it over my other arm. It felt strange to have a balloon for your own skin, but it was a pleasant sensation nonetheless.

"I fell... good. This isn't so bad. Thank you, Darkheart."

I could feel Darkheart's satisfaction as he sent a feeling of pleasure and comfort throughout my body. It was like I was getting an internal massage and I shivered as it brought goosebumps to my skin.

"You're very welcome. Now... shall we head outside for a little shopping?"

I nodded and grabbed my checkbook before heading out of the apartment for a day together as one.

While I was shopping, I could "feel" Darkheart's curiosity towards the other people of the world. He seemed to be studying their movements and behaviors as best he could while I went through the store, buying any rubber items I could find. I was not sure what he was thinking, but as the day went on, I started to feel a distinct dislike for the human race.

"I don't know why humans think that they are on top of the food chain," he told me when I queried his feelings. "Without tools such as these "knives" or "guns", humans would be as delicate as I am at the moment. But that will change with time. They will soon know how I feel when they join the Synthetic race."

He continued to voice his opinions about how weak humans were until I stepped into the party supply aisle. The instant he saw the bags of party balloons lining the shelves, he suddenly dropped his negative outlook towards the humans and addressed me with his opinion. "This is what I like to see, Alex. All of these balloons in their natural environment make my heart race with satisfaction. If only the human race were like these."

I hated to be a killjoy, but I felt I had to tell him the truth. "I hate to tell you this, Darkheart, but these balloons are not like you in power and ability."

Darkheart hesitated. "What?"

I gulped and took a chance. "These are simple party balloons. Humans make them for the purpose of entertainment at parties. They're not built like you and the closest they get to balloon animals like you is when they are long, tube-like ones manipulated into animal forms."

I had expected Darkheart to be upset at this comment, but for some reason, he simply sighed and said, "Is that so? Well... we'll see about that. Grab some. I may have some use for them."

I was confused as to why he was reacting so calmly to my opinion, but as long as he wasn't chewing me out, I was just fine with that. I grabbed four packages of normal balloons and two bags of tube balloons and added them to my bag. Darkheart was taking this rather well for someone who just found out that his own "species" were nothing more than items for human amusement. Huh.

When I checked out later, I used my special employee discount to get a decent percentage off of the rubber items. I had grabbed several bags of dishwashing gloves of various colors, a portable rubber dinghy, a couple bottles of "balloon candy", aka rubber cement and six bags of party balloons of both kinds. When one of my fellow co-workers raised an eyebrow at my purchases, I simply shrugged and said, "I'm having a balloon bash." She then walked off with a sigh and a shake of her head.

When we got home that night, I dropped the bags on the counter and went back to the living room so Darkheart could separate himself from me. After drawing air in through his own mouth like a possessed costume, he was once again his normal Balloon Shadow Lugia self.

"Hold still. This might be a little unpleasant for you."

I did so and Darkheart brought his head down to the floor. He took a few deep breaths and began to retch and gag. I felt a sudden push underneath me like he was about to throw me up. I instinctively curled up in a fetal position and let Darkheart do his thing. Soon, I felt myself moving slowly up his throat and pause just below his mouth.

Then with a massive stretch of his jaw and a final heave, he "vomited" me clean out of his system so that I tumbled onto the carpet, covered in a slight coating of "digestive slime" and reeking heavily of latex.

Darkheart coughed a few times and his jaw snapped back to its original size. He got woozily to his feet and stumbled for a moment before looking at me.

"I'm pretty sure you taste better going down that coming up. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I decide to make you an afternoon snack."

I chuckled lightly, unsure if he was kidding or not. But Darkheart didn't seem to notice and went back to the kitchen to rummage through the bags I had brought home.

"I suggest you go wash that slime off before it sets in. It can get rather bizarre if you have a coating of balloon slime on you. I should know."

I took this as a warning and made a beeline for the bathroom, stopping for a minute to strip and throw my clothes in the sink. I dumped a decent amount of hand soap in it and let the water run while I set the temperature for the shower. When it was full, I turned off the faucet and jumped into the shower. I would have to work extra hard to wash my body out before it set in. I just wish Darkheart could have been a little cleaner when he had expelled me from his system.

Oh well...

While Alex was in the shower, Darkheart was making a meal of a bag of yellow dishwashing gloves that Alex had bought while they had been out. While he was eating, he started to think about what Alex had said while they were at the store. Was it really true? Were balloons really just there for humans' amusement? He had seen several balloons floating on strings at various stores on the way to Wal-Mart and as far as he was concerned, he was not impressed. All day, they drifted in the breeze, tethered to the ground by tape or strings. And if they were let go, they would drift off into the heavens where they would eventually pop from too little air pressure in the atmosphere.

He was not impressed, either, that they had been filled with helium to make them float forever or stayed tethered by children's greed. He hated helium. He had never taken it, but he knew all too well its deception towards balloon-kind. It offered them the sweet, succulent taste that normal air could not offer. It filled them with a feeling of near invulnerability and power. It was like a kind of legal drug that claimed countless balloon lives.

But then, its lighter-than-air properties would fill your body with a sudden lift that would take advantage of your lightweight properties and carry you away to an inhabitable height where the lack of air pressure would claim your life with a simple burst of air. It was completely pointless.

But other than that, there was the knowledge that once you were filled with helium, you were doomed to dangle at the end of a string for some snot-nosed human child's amusement. They would tug on you, whine about you and yell their heads off just to get you. And to add injury to more insult, they would either let you go outside either intentionally or accidentally so that you were victim to the atmosphere again. Either that or they would leave you inside, bobbing near the ceiling helplessly until they either decided to take you down and pop you or let all of the helium drift out of you over time until you were back to where you started – shriveled, deflated and helpless to be thrown away like common trash.

By now, Darkheart's anger and hatred had shifted from helium to the human race in general. He felt like trash to know that balloons were only for people's amusement and enjoyment. They had no purpose but to entertain. It infuriated him to know that balloons could not defend themselves in the great scheme of things.

Well, that would not be the case any longer. His parents had been balloons, but when they had created him, they had unintentionally filled him with a power and knowledge that only he could understand. He had finally gotten fed up with their nomad lives and was finally exiled against his will to be sold like some common party balloon. He was going to get his revenge on the human race no matter how long it took. He was going to give balloons a new existence in life, starting with...

But wait... Darkheart realized that not _all_ humans were that bad. For as long as he had "owned" him, Alex Schaefer had treated him with compassion and understanding. He had given him his food and had treated him like he was part of his family, regardless of his composition. Maybe he could use Alex in his plans to exact his revenge on the world. He just needed to figure out how.

Wanting to find out more about what it was about Alex that made him feel this way, Darkheart walked over to the closed bathroom door and listened to him singing in the shower. He wanted to conduct his test while Alex was asleep, but according to the clock, it was only 7:00 and Darkheart couldn't wait.

Placing his wing on the door, Darkheart focused his mind through the wood and into Alex's mind. He wasn't a psychic balloon for nothing and he was determined to show just what he could do. He soon locked onto Alex's mind, pressuring his subconscious to take over. Darkheart's eyes glowed a bright red and Alex's singing slowed for a moment before it stopped altogether and there was a resounding mixture of a _thump_ and a _splash_ as Alex keeled over, fast asleep.

Darkheart gave it a minute before he placed his wing on the knob and rolled it open. Thankfully, it was unlocked and he slipped in unnoticed. Alex was lying against the walls of the shower stall, snoring lightly as the shower continued to rain down on him. With a flick of his wing, he turned off the shower and opened the shower door.

Alex was slumped against the side of the shower, fast asleep with some soapy residue still on his body. He gave his figure a sniff and smiled. Alex had not yet gotten all of the latex goo off of his skin and there was still plenty of it on his legs. This would work perfectly for Darkheart's experiment.

Since Alex was much too heavy to lift him on his own and he didn't want to wake him by moving his body through the apartment, Darkheart had to improvise. He climbed into the shower stall and pressed his belly against Alex's prone form. Within a minute, he was safely inside him again, albeit he was now naked and covered in soap. But this time, Darkheart had him suspended halfway inside of him so that he was in a fetal position inside of his torso.

Now that he was set, Darkheart waddled out of the bathroom and went back to the living room. He needed plenty of space to work with and the living room had the most out of the tiny apartment. Once he was in there, He bounced on his toes for a minute to saturate Alex in latex slime before expelling him from his system again and onto the floor.

As Alex flopped onto the floor, Darkheart gave a sniff of pleasure for a moment, smiling. There was nothing like the smell of latex, digestive or otherwise. He then stood there for a while, allowing the slime to stick to Alex's skin and dried, forming a smooth, rubbery second skin around him.

What Darkheart did to Alex for the rest of the night cannot be repeated. It seems that Darkheart blacked out the author during that time so that his experiments and tests remained hidden. We are very sorry, but Darkheart is much more powerful than we can tell you. By the next time that we were able to get back into the story, Darkheart had somehow redressed the sleeping Alex and placed him on top of his bed. Darkheart, meanwhile, was at the kitchen table with an open bag of party balloons and a pen and paper in his hand, taking notes on his studies. He was deep in concentration and the pen was flying across the paper, writing who-knows-what in a language and script that was only known to Darkheart.

It seemed that he was planning something, but it would be a while before he finally put into action. After the success of his experiments, Darkheart could finally afford to wait for his moment to strike. It was all coming together now...

Back in the Rocky Mountains, in a secluded cave high up in the rock cliffs, a quartet of Balloon Lugia were snoozing peacefully. These were the original Latexed Lugia: Sirius, Rye, Silver and Siron, named after their flesh-and-blood counterparts. They were all sleeping after another day of freedom and prosperity in the mountains. Because they were Synthetics, they did not need to abide by the laws of the Lugia. They were free to do with what they want in the world and they answered to no one.

While the rest of them slept on, Sirius suddenly stirred and opened her eyes. She couldn't sleep for some reason and there was something unseen keeping her awake. It had all started with a feeling of foreboding she had gotten earlier in the day and she just couldn't shake it.

Trying for another few minutes to get to sleep, Sirius finally gave up and stood up to go outside. Normally, she would grab a small snack of rubber cement that she had pilfered from a local store (don't ask), but she was too troubled to eat. All she did was stare out of the cave with a troubled expression on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it, love?"

Sirius gave a small yelp and bounced a few inches off the ground before bobbing back down and looking behind her. Her fellow Latexed Lugia and lifelong mate, Rye, was standing behind her, his wings at his side and a concerned look on his face.

"Rye! I thought you were asleep!" she said defensively.

Rye shook his head. "With time, you tend to listen to the squeaking of a fellow balloon, and I know from interpretation that something is troubling you. What is it, love?"

Sirius had no idea that Rye had adapted so quickly after she had turned him into a balloon against his will. But she wasn't one to argue. Once upon the time, _she_ would have been asking _him_ what was wrong with him.

Sirius got right to the point. "I've been having this dark feeling all day, Rye. It's like something evil is going to descend on the world and the human race will be unable to stop it. I know we can't do much, but I feel that it has something to do with us."

Rye sighed and walked over to put a wing around her shoulders. "If it has to do with the humans, your father will do something about it. If it involves us, Aridos will deal with it. We can't do anything about it without putting ourselves and our children in danger. I am willing to fight, but I'd rather not do it unless I was sure that I had no other choice."

Sirius frowned and sighed to herself. "I just wish I knew what it was. It's like something I once knew but forgot long ago. If I knew what it was, I would feel more inclined to do something about it. But all I know right now is that there is something wrong and I can't do anything about it."

Rye slowly stroked her smooth, rubbery back. She had long since built up the thickness of her body, making her nearly impossible to pop. He always liked her soft, flexible body better than his own. There was a distinct feminine feel to it that Rye could not replicate.

"If it is meant to be, our time will come, Sirius. We will be told if we are needed and we will rise to the occasion. But right now, we need to stay hidden. Please come back to bed, love. I'm missing your soft body against mine."

Sirius sighed and relented. She was getting worked up over something she couldn't control. She knew that if she was needed, she would be told about it. But right now, she needed to get some sleep. She walked back into the cave and curled up in-between Rye and her chicks. It was really nothing to worry about right now. Right now, the Dream World was awaiting her late arrival.

But right before she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but voice one last thought to her mate. "I wonder... how Darkheart... is... doing..."

Rye was already fast asleep.

That morning, I woke up to find myself fully dressed and lying on the top of my covers in my bedroom. This was a little strange. The last thing I remembered was singing in the shower, getting myself clean when I suddenly blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was lying here in my own bedroom with all of my morning clothes on. But in-between those two times was a great big zero. All I could find was a great, dark power that had somehow seduced me into a deep sleep, but other than that... nothing!

I sat up in bed and tried to get my bearings. For the life of me, I could not remember a thing, so I forgot what I had forgotten and climbed out of bed to go start my day.

The first thing that I saw when I entered the kitchen was Darkheart standing next to the stove, frying a pair of eggs in a pan. I noticed immediately that he looked different than he had the previous night. He had a distinct human shape and stance to him this time. His legs were much longer and looked lean and muscular. His torso was covered with the same lavender mark that had been there before, but I could make out the faint ridges of a six-pack over his rubber belly.

Darkheart also had a pair of lean, flexible arms with five slim, slender fingers on his hands like a human had minus the fingernails. And to top it all off, his wings had shifted position from his arms to his shoulders like a pair of dragon-ish wings, but these ones looked more like "fingered" wings that were similar to his old ones. And while his neck was slightly shorter than before, his head was still as Lugia-based as ever before. I still recognized his dagger-shaped eye masks and everything else about his head.

"I like the new form, Darkheart," I said, trying to offer him a compliment. "What do you call it?"

Darkheart looked at me for a moment, looking me up and down before smiling and returning his attention to the stove. "I call it my "anthro" form. It's got the flexibility and capabilities of a human while still retaining my Lugian form. Do you like it?"

I smiled and nodded. "It suits you very well. But... how did you do it?"

Darkheart grabbed a spatula and prodded the yolks of the eggs, breaking them and causing the yellow goo to ooze out of them. He then flipped them over and watched them sizzle for a moment before answering.

"You should know that by now. I have the natural ability to change my body into whatever form I please. I just choose to use this form rather than my old one."

I still had a question. "But doesn't that stretch your body out _extremely_ thin? I'm surprised that you're cooking over a hot stove when you could burst from the heat."

Darkheart let the egg fry on its own and came over to me to put a _wing_ (not his arm) around my shoulder, giving me a reassuring feeling. "You would think that, but after all of the latex that I have ingested, my body has become much more resistant to popping. With more thickness in my normal form, I can stretch myself even thinner and larger. With time, I could rival even a full-sized van in size."

"Wow..." I said, instinctively putting my hand behind me on his wing. He felt just as smooth and warm as usual, but there was something... different about it. I just could tell what.

Darkheart smiled and traded his wing for his corresponding hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you go get ready for the day? I still have a few things left to make. Come back in about ten minutes."

I wasn't really hungry yet, so I decided to get a jump on my day and go shower early. Darkheart continued to cook while I went to get clean.

While Alex was in the shower, Darkheart had cooked up a small banquet. He had made fried eggs, toast, orange juice and an English muffin for Alex out of the "goodness of his heart". Please. This was just a ruse to keep Alex in the dark about his true plan. And what he did next only proved it.

Darkheart took a deep breath and coughed lightly, gagging on something he had ingested the night before to hide from Alex. He knew Alex would not be able to hear him over the shower and eventually coughed up a plastic test tube filled with a milky-white liquid inside. He had created the test tube and stopper on his own, but after what he did to Alex last night, he was able to create the liquid inside. It was just a prototype, but once he got it right, he would finally unlock its true potential down the road.

Darkheart spat the vial into his hand and pulled out the stopper. Agitating the liquid a little, he hovered over Alex's meal and dripped exactly three drops onto both of his eggs. He didn't want to push it just yet – he had no idea how strong this stuff was at the moment – so he kept the dose light until he knew its true potential.

The liquid seemed into Alex's eggs, giving no indication that they had been tampered with, and Darkheart stoppered the vial and swallowed it whole again. If everything worked out, he would be a very happy Synthetic.

I got out of the shower and got dressed before going to have my breakfast. It was very nice of Darkheart to make me breakfast after everything I've done for him so far. He was really not that bad once you got to know him and I was thankful to have him in my life.

While I was eating, I noticed that the eggs were a little _too_ done. They were slightly rubbery to chew on, but they didn't taste any different than they should, so I ignored it and continued my meal in peace. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Darkheart sitting on the couch in the living room, taking notes in a notebook written in a script that I did not recognize. I let him be. As long as the both of us were happy, that was just fine with me.

When I was done eating, I put my dishes in the dishwasher and started it up. It had been a while since I had washed them, so I figured it was time to turn it on. Darkheart, meanwhile, continued to take notes and was oblivious to my presence. I then went back to my room to go read a book that I had gotten as a birthday present last year and finally decided to read. I had nothing to do today, so I might as well kill some time.

Occasionally, Darkheart would pop in to check on me just like a concerned parent. He would appear so suddenly and silently that I barely noticed him. If I would have paid attention to his visits, I would have noticed that his demeanor was becoming slightly more panicked every time he visited me.

After about two hours, I finally grew tired of reading and went back out into the living room to watch some TV. I noticed for the first time that Darkheart was sitting in front of the window, looking out of it with longing.

"Hey, Darkheart," I said to the balloon. "How are things going?"

Darkheart said nothing. He didn't even acknowledge my presence.

I blinked and walked over to him so that I was right in front of him. "Is there something wrong?"

Nothing. He didn't even look at me, even though he was looking right _through_ me.

I wondered if he was thinking about something important and took the chance to take a look at his notebook on the table. It would have been an invasion of his privacy, but I couldn't help myself. Darkheart did not even flinch as I sat back down on the couch and leafed through the notebook.

The pages were filled with strange symbols, calculations and drawings that I didn't even come close to recognizing. It looked like he had been working on a math paper, but I was sure that these drawings weren't in any math problem that I was aware of. They were pictures of balloons of various sizes, a clock with the hands in the 10:36 position, a basic human body with different points circled and labeled and graphs of all sizes and shapes. I was surprised at Darkheart's intelligence. He had only been alive for less than a day and already, he had written all of this. He must have stayed up all night working on this!

I flipped through the pages, trying my hardest to understand these characters, but they were written in a language and font that I had never seen before in my life. They were hard to describe, but I saw a number of symbols that looked like a star with its points disconnected from its center on numerous occasions.

Feeling I had pressed my luck far enough, I closed the notebook and put it back on the table. I had a feeling that Darkheart had seen me reading it, but for some reason, he hadn't budged an inch. It was like he _knew_ that I couldn't decipher it and _let_ me read it.

When I made to sit back down, I suddenly heard Darkheart muttering to himself, although he still wasn't moving. It was low, but I caught every word as I sat down about eight feet from him.

"...should have worked by now. I did everything to a "T" and yet it still won't work. Could I have made a mistake? No... I did everything perfectly. What is it missing? It needs something to make it work. I can't give up just yet. They're counting on me to see this through. I will not fail them and let them be rendered defenseless. I just need some time to think. Maybe there's something I overlooked. I need to go back and read it again. Maybe... maybe _he_ knows. He created _her;_ maybe he knows what I'm missing. Let's go see."

With that last comment, Darkheart finally stood up and turned to face me. "Alex... I need to go out for a while. Please wait for me. I will be right back."

He was speaking in a melancholy voice as if in a trance. I looked at him with a strange look but let him go anyway. If he wanted to understand something on his own, that was up to him. I had no reason to hold him back.

"See you later, Darkheart," I told him as he grabbed his notebook and headed for the door.

Darkheart paused before opening the door and turned to look at me. The look on his face looked lost and confused, but he shook his head before heading out the door. I looked at the spot where he had been standing for a moment before turning back to my shows. He would come around; he just needed time.

Darkheart maintained his anthro form as he descended the stairs to the main floor and headed out into the parking lot. He could not understand it. What had gone wrong? It should have worked by now, but he hadn't even upset Alex's stomach with that mixture. There was something he was missing. What was it about the liquid that had brought _him_ to life but could also affect the humans the same way? Was there a missing step? Was there something that he didn't have that was crucial to triggering the process? He had to find out.

Ignoring the humans' looks as he headed across the blacktop to the store where he had come from. He had to get into Plushtopia to see what it was about Synthetics that could also affect humans. He could care less about getting a few strange looks or whispers about a walking, talking balloon animal. Soon, he would find the answer to his problem and they would all understand his dilemma.

The front door of Plushtopia was locked firmly and a "Closed" sign was hanging on the inside of the glass. It seemed that Aridos was not in at the moment. There was no other reason why he would close up shop. This worked to Darkheart's advantage and he would have all the time he needed to get what he wanted.

Sticking one of his slender fingers in the lock, he worked it around until he felt the inner workings of the lock and twisted it open. Normally, this action would have punctured him, but his skin was _much_ more resistant to being punctured than it had been the previous day, thanks to Alex and his supply of latex items.

He didn't dare use his psychic powers. If he knew Aridos, there would have been magic detectors all over the shop, preventing him from gaining access. But the old man failed to install an ordinary security system like everyone else. He would soon pay for his insolence.

Once he felt the lock click open, Darkheart slowly swung the door open and crept inside. The lights were off, but with his super-sharp vision, he made his way through the shop to the back room, where he meddled with the lock again and snuck inside.

Once he was inside, Darkheart took his time. He was looking for something in particular and he wasn't in any rush to find it. He sorted through the shelves of ancient spell books and whatnot, running his finger over the spines to read the titles. He kept his voice quiet in case Aridos had any audio detectors in the room. It was bad enough that his body's constant squeaking was making a noticeable racket; he didn't need Aridos to know _who_ was rummaging through his belongings.

Finally, he found it. It was a small, slim notebook on Synthetics that had been recently put together. He carefully slid the volume out of its place on the shelf and laid it out on the counter. Slowly flipping through the pages, he read over the topics to himself.

Plush Types... no. Plush Abilities... no. He needed something on Balloons. _Anything_ that would answer his questions.

Near the back of the book, he found what he was looking for. It was labeled: "Balloon/Flesh Conversion" and contained several notes on how to turn flesh into latex. He read through the notes for a while before smiling and chuckling quietly.

"Perfect," he said quietly. He took out his own notebook and copied the item down on a spare page. He would put it in its proper place later.

After getting what he wanted, he put the notebook back in its place and stole from the shop. He finally had his answer and he would use it to start his own revolution towards the human race. He also had the perfect recipe to the chemical he had tried to lace Alex's food with. With enough of it, he could (Author's Note: That's a secret!) and finally have his full revenge. It was all so perfect.

But as he closed and locked the front door behind him, Darkheart hit a snag. What about Alex? He would know about what he was planning and maybe try to stop him. But even though he was willing to do whatever Darkheart told him to, he figured that Alex was expendable. He did not have any further use for him... as he was. He chuckled to himself and started to plan his first step in starting his revolution. It was all so... perfect.

Darkheart returned around 1:00 and from the look on his face, I wondered if he had gotten what he was looking for. He had a very mischievous smile on his face and he was clutching his notebook to his chest like it was his lifeline.

"Darkheart?" I called to him. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

For some reason, Darkheart started laughing to himself. It started very quiet-like and started to get more and more maniacal. I watched him stare off in one direction before he suddenly looked right at me. But the instant I locked eyes with him, I felt as if I no longer knew him. There was a deranged look in his eyes that I had never seen before. It was like he had gone insane while he was out and had finally snapped.

He then started slowly crossing the kitchen and the dining room to confront me. I couldn't move even if I had wanted to. He was scaring me that bad. When he stopped in front of me, I was practically cowering in the corner of the couch.

"D-D-Darkheart? What's g-going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Darkheart looked at me with a look of sick ecstasy. Before I could react, his eyes began to glow red and I felt my body seize up. I realized for the first time that he wanted to hurt me... very badly.

"Do you not see it, Alex? Everything that I could ever want is inside of you. You hold the power that I desire to make my dreams come true. With your body, mind and spirit, I can finally exact my revenge on this world and everyone in it."

I had _no idea_ what he was talking about. What did he mean by me having what he wanted? As far as I knew, I was just like every other regular Joe out there. What was it about me that he needed. I could only watch as I felt Darkheart's fingers start to wrap around my throat. They were fusing together on the other side like a rubber noose and he lifted me up to his eye level.

"Come inside me, Alex. Feed my spirit so that I may begin the revolt of my species. I need you, Alex. I _crave_ you! Your fluids will feed my body so that I will begin the end of the human race!"

I tried to pry Darkheart's "hand" from around my neck, but it was like it had welded onto my skin, strangling me and leaving me completely helpless.

"Don't do this, Darkheart! You're better than this! We can do this together if you let me work with you. Just let me go!"

Darkheart suddenly gave a bark-like laugh as he tightened the noose around my throat. "You don't seem to get the point, my dear human. Your current form is currently disposable, but once inside me, your essence will be much more useful to me. You will be the foundation for my new army and soon, nothing will stand in my way! Come inside me, Alex! Let us begin the age of the Balloon Revolution!"

I tried to get away, but Darkheart had me stuck in one spot. I had a feeling that I knew what he meant by "coming inside him", but there was nothing I could do about it. I watched as the noose around my throat disconnected from Darkheart's wrist and he stepped back, watching it regrow on its own and testing his new fingers with interest.

"You know... this form doesn't seem... appropriate for your demise. I think I'll stick with something a little more... classic."

As I hung there, helpless, I watched as Darkheart's body began to liquefy and he seemed to melt into a pool of violet latex. He remained in this state for a moment before he started to reinflate himself like he was starting over from scratch. He started out as a puddle, but within a minute, he was once again his Classic Shadow Lugia form, but _much_ bigger. He then looked _down_ at me with a soft chuckle.

"It's over for you, Alex. Come inside my belly and fuel my revolution against the human race."

I could do nothing as his mouth opened extra-wide and descended on me. wrapping his jaws around my shoulders and lifting me clean off the floor. I didn't even scream as he began to gulp me down bit by bit, taking small breaks to savor my unique "flavor" with his moist, rubbery tongue. I knew I was going to die and nothing was ever going to stop this, so why fight the inevitable?

I slid down Darkheart's narrow, slimy throat just as my feet were slurped up by him and his jawline returned to normal. I was in there for about five seconds before I was emptied into a hollow, slimy chamber deep inside Darkheart's belly. I knew then where all of the latex that I had fed him had gone. It had not only thickened his skin but had also formed an entire digestive system inside of him. So this is how it all ends – being digested by an giant, evil balloon and used for God-knows-what in some great "revolution". I guess I couldn't sink any lower.

While I was in Darkheart's stomach, I could barely see through his violet body, but I could feel some vile, milky-white slime smelling like hot rubber dripping down from the chamber walls and onto my body. It was disgusting, but I put up with it because I knew I could do nothing about it.

But despite my predicament, I did my best to find out what this was all about.

"Why, Darkheart? I took you in as my own and had every intention of raising you as you were. Why did it have to come to this?"

Darkheart seemed to have heard me and gave his bloated belly a poke with his wing. "I'll tell you why. I was cast out by my own species to fend for myself. And when I learned of you humans' treatment to others smarter than you, I became enraged. You humans think that you are at the top of the food chain because you think you are superior to everyone else. Just because someone or something might be smarter than you, you cast them aside like outcasts and go on living the way you always do. Well, how do you like it when those you have cast aside decide to fight back?! I may be made of latex, but I am more powerful and far more intelligent than you humans give me credit for. Soon, I will make myself so powerful and resilient that not even your human military will be able to pop me. And from my experiences, I will create an army of Super-Synthetics that will use their powers to repopulate this planet in our image. Do you see this?"

I looked out of his stomach at a small vial of liquid that he was holding in front of his torso. By now, the white latex goo had started to numb up my legs and start to turn them into liquid latex. I was fighting a losing battle, but I did my best to stay alive long enough to understand this.

"This is my secret weapon – a mixture of special chemicals to turn human flesh into an immortal balloon-like material – Codename: "Latex Lore". With enough of it, I will lace the country's water supply and soon, the entire country will consist of Synthetics. Soon after that, the world will be at my control!"

I could hardly believe what he was planning, but against all odds, I smiled and chuckled to myself. Unfortunately, Darkheart "felt" it.

"What is so funny?"

"I thought you _hated_ humans. The way I see it, you'll simply be ruling over a country of _human_ Synthetics!"

But against my better judgment, it was _Darkheart_ that had the last laugh. "That is a secret that even _you_ will not know until it is too late! I have no intention of ruling a world filled with human Synthetics. The final version of "Latex Lore" will have something that not even you humans will see coming."

By now, my chest was losing its flesh-like consistency and it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. But before I blacked out for good, I still managed to get one more word in.

"Someone will stop you! When you least expected, someone within your _own_ organization will rise up against you! You'll rue the day you ever created them and they will TAKE YOU OUT!!!"

Darkheart blinked for a moment but then chuckled. "I look forward to it, Alex, but right now, you are no match for me. Good-bye, human slime. I hope you will be watching the day that all of humanity is conquered by the Synthetics."

I don't know how I had gotten the sense to say that final warning, but as I passed into the next life, I stuck by it. Darkheart may not know it now, but his own organization would be his own downfall.

Darkheart pressed his ear against his belly and listened as Alex's last breath escaped his lips as he was completely converted into a milky-white latex slime. He had ignored his final words and cast them aside as complete hogwash. By the time he announced himself to the public, it would already be too late for them. They would be powerless to stop him and he would be at the top of the world.

Darkheart bounced on his heels for a moment, listening to Alex's juices slosh around inside of him. He had just converted his former owner and master and he had absolutely no remorse for it. Humans were useless to him, but their juices and essences combined with the chemicals of his body created a special fluid that would be more beneficial to him in the end.

For a few minutes, Darkheart looked off in no particular direction, thinking about how he was going to put these fluids to use. He then smiled and began to swirl them around in his stomach. He then forced some of it into his throat and up to his mouth. He "vomited" a decent amount of it into his mouth and swirled it around in his cheeks for a moment, coating his tongue and savoring the aftertaste of Alex's fluids. He had savored his delicious flavor going down and even now, it was absolutely wonderful to taste.

Once his mouth and tongue was fully coated, Darkheart began to blow. The result was that of blowing a large bubble made of solid latex instead of spraying fluid everywhere. He kept blowing into the milky-white sphere until he got it to his desired specifications and bit down on the end, causing it to disconnect from his system and hover in mid-air in the middle of the living room.

Darkheart then pressed his ear against his belly again and bounced on his toes to hear just how much liquid he had used. Judging from the amount of splashing he heard, he had only used a fraction of the ten gallons he had obtained from Alex's body. He had just enough for two more bubbles of liquid.

Darkheart then repeated the same process with the second bubble and finally, a third. The first two were identical to each other in size and mass, but the third one was slightly larger than its counterparts. He had had a little leftover liquid and decided, "Waste not, want not" before using it all in the third bubble.

There was not much room left in the living room for all four occupants, so Darkheart retreated to the dining room to give himself some space. He then admired his work for a moment before opening his mouth up for a fourth time and taking a deep breath. From a set of special lungs created with the rest of his internal organs, Darkheart expelled a stream of smooth, gentle, blue flames to consume each of the three bubbles. When he was done, all three of them looked like they had been set ablaze.

But this is where he began to work his magic. In each breath, he had poured in the essence and form of what he wanted the bubbles to take. One by one, the bubbles began to mold themselves into three different forms. The one on the right filled with color and dyed itself a mixture of blue and white, taking on the shape and build of a female anthro fox. As the fire died away, the rubber vixen opened her eyes and took her first breath in her new life. She then looked at Darkheart and bowed to her master.

"Thank you for your Breath of Life, Master. My name is Krystal. I live to serve you and all of Synthetic kind."

Darkheart nodded and replied, "It's nice to meet you, Krystal. Your service and loyalty will be respected as long as you are with me."

The second bubble shaped itself into a form similar to Krystal's but with a much larger a puffier tail and a shorter, slightly-curved muzzle. It also filled out with a mixture of jet-black and white stripes – an skunk in every anthro way. This one then opened its eyes and bowed down to her creator.

"Thank you for awakening me, Master. My name is Shannon and I will do whatever it takes to please you."

Darkheart returned the bow and acknowledged his second servant. "I will always remember you, Shannon, as long as you are loyal to me, you will be protected. Welcome to my team."

The third and largest bubble took a little longer to begin to take form. But when it did, it took a form not commonly seen in any world – anthro or otherwise. It took the form of a large bear-like creature with not one, not two, but _four_ large, "feathered" wings. There was something different about the surface of _this_ one, though. While the other two were smooth and rubbery, this one had grown a short coat of rubbery "fur". When you touched it, your hand seemed to slide over it like touching liquid water without the wet feeling. It had a long, furry tail with a set of rugged plating all the way from under its throat to the tip of its tail. It filled itself out with a creamy-yellow coloring on its "fur" while its "plating" was a burnt-orange color.

When it opened its eyes, it acknowledged its master for the first time. "Hail Darkheart – the Lord of Synthetics. My name is Seryn the Flammie and I will do whatever it takes to please you."

(Author's Note: For those of you who are panicking at this moment, I brought Seryn into the fray for other reasons than what Darkheart was planning. Don't worry; Seryn has her reasons for being on Darkheart's team! Keep reading for details.)

For some reason, Darkheart had a fleeting impression that there was something... "odd" about this one. It was like there was more to her than he had originally intended. But he ignored it and returned Seryn's bow.

"Welcome, Seryn. I hope to see your unflinching loyalty to me in the coming revolution."

Darkheart took a moment to examine his new troops. A fox, a skunk and a Flammie – all female and all loyal to him. These would just be the start of his up-and-coming army and they would help him realize his dream of exacting revenge on the world.

"Welcome, my divas. I have brought you into this world from the remains of a human I converted to start my revolution. With the three of you at my side, we will spread the empire of Synthetics throughout this world and claim it for our own. At the moment, you are weak and vulnerable. But soon, I will send the three of you to three different points in this country to help start the Synthetic Revolution. But for now, please eat and relax. Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we initiate the beginning of the end of the human race! Synthetics forever!"

The three Synthetic Divas each raised a paw with Darkheart's wing and shouted, "Synthetics forever!" They then went to the bags of rubber items that Alex had bought and had their first meal. They would need the nutrition for the up-and-coming revolution, so they did not cut corners when it came to portions.

While they ate, Darkheart had gone over to the window and was staring out of it with his wings at his sides. "Soon, it will all begin... and then... we will all see who is the "toy" here."

**To be continued...**

Coming soon from shadowlugia249:

"Latex Lore Chapter 2: The Ranks Swell" – Krystal's mission

"Latex Lore Chapter 3: Pop-Marked" – Shannon's mission

"Latex Lore Chapter 4: Bye Bye Balloonies" – Seryn's mission

"The Plushtopia Chronicles – Sidian" – A plush dragon adventure


	2. Chapter 2: The Ranks Swell

**Latex Lore Chapter 2: The Ranks Swell**

_By shadowlugia249_

Author's Note: I've never done a mini-series before, so I'm working on developing a storyline behind it. This is the most amount of stories in one series that I had ever done before, so my ideas might dry up after a while, but if all goes well, I should have enough material to make it through the whole thing. Keep a lookout for a familiar scenario from a popular media icon. Enjoy!

When Karmen Aridos returned to his store one fine Monday morning, he immediately knew that something was wrong. He couldn't place it, but he knew that _something_ was different about the place. He immediately started rooting around his store for some indication that his suspicions were correct.

But try as he might, he could not find a single product out of place. It was as if someone had broken in and not taken or even disturbed anything. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right here. He made his way to his back room and began to root around.

Everything was right where he had left it. Not one thing was out of place. But when he looked at his desk, he noticed the one thing he was looking for: There was a small, Number Two pencil lying on his desk that he knew had not been there when he had left. Picking it up by the eraser, he gave it a sniff. Years of magical meddlings had told him just how to detect intruders using primitive methods.

Sure enough, he detected the faint odor of magical latex on it. A Synthetic Balloonie had been in here just yesterday. It had thought it had pulled off the perfect crime, but it had unintentionally left this one clue.

But what _was_ the perfect crime? This pencil had to be related to something. And Aridos had a way to find out. Taking out a piece of paper, he balanced the pencil point-down on it and muttered the word, "Write."

The pencil took off across the paper, rewriting the last thing it had been commanded to do. It was like an invisible hand was commanding it to write back the last thing it remembered. When it was all done, Aridos took the paper and examined it.

The text wasn't written in plain English text but was instead written in a font that he had only seen come from one other place. It consisted of symbols that depicted an ancient forgotten language belonging to the Guardians of the planet.

This confirmed two things. One: a Guardian had written this text. And Two: Aridos recognized enough of the lost language to realize that it had copied some notes straight out of one of his own notebooks. After locating said notebook, he realized that the content that the Synthetic had "stolen" could be used the wrong way and endanger anyone it came into contact with.

Aridos crumpled the paper in frustration. This was bad. If that knowledge came across the wrong Balloonie (and he had a pretty good idea who), it could to get real ugly real fast. He left the back room to make some calls. This was going to be a long day, but he started dialing anyway.

My name is Skyle Kelvin and I wish I had a girlfriend. I was never one to be lucky in my love life and so far, every opportunity I have had to be with a woman, I had been shot down in flames. I didn't have much time during the day to find a girlfriend with my job interfering all the time. I was pretty much on my own in the New York Water Treatment Plant. Yeah... not a real chick magnet if you ask me. But I get by with my life while still trying to find a girlfriend on the side.

But despite my disadvantage in the "ways of woo", I still had two very odd hobbies in my life – video games and latex. Yeah, you heard me right – latex. I seem to have a rare fetish for all things rubber and balloon and sometimes both. I would go out on my days off and see what kind of rubber items I could find on the market.

I would find things like rubber dishwashing gloves of all kinds, rubber cement that I would have a ball plastering all over stuff in my apartment before peeling off, liquid latex to create my own scenarios of being made of rubber and my all-time favorite item: balloons of all shapes and sizes. I would spend long hours of my weekends just rolling in a room full of balloons that I had inflated earlier, feeling the soft, rubbery texture brush against my skin. I admit I have a problem, but I feel that as long as it's not hurting anyone, I'm just fine with it. Sometimes, I wish my girlfriend would be made out of latex. I prefer the feel of rubber against my skin over fleshy skin any day. Alas, if it were only true.

That brings me back to my second favorite thing in the world – video games. I have a Gamecube and a Nintendo DS in my possession, giving me both a taste of this generation and last generation's top games. I would often spend entire weekends lying on a rubber-lined chair while playing countless hours of video games to my heart's content. It was fun to do in my free time and I would spend any money I had not already spent on latex on buying new games.

But out of all the video games I have played and owned, I would have to say that there is only one series that I _never_ get tired of playing. It is the legendary Starfox series and for just one reason – Krystal.

Oh, how I wish that I would see her for myself in the Real World. That beautiful blue-furred vixen has captured my heart for the last few years ever since she debuted in "Starfox Adventures". She has all the grace and beauty of the most beautiful woman in the world. She's also feisty when she wants to be, adding to her personality. Not only that, but she was known to have Telepathic powers in "Starfox Assault", giving her a power unlike anything I had ever seen in a woman. I would spend some time on my missions on Starfox Assault to track down Krystal on foot to watch her go at the enemies like nobody's business. I would completely ignore my mission and watch her deal with the enemies by herself, barely keeping her out of my sight. The best place to do this was on the Sauria level where Fox got free-range of either his Arwing, Landmaster or on foot and Krystal was hanging around one of the temples on foot, taking it to the enemy.

(Author's Note: This is an actual scenario to those who have played "Starfox Assault".)

But there were only two things more beautiful than her appearance and fighting skills: her voice and her wardrobe. In Starfox Adventures, she had been wearing a simple leather attire: a bra, a loincloth, armlets, shoulder pads and sandals. But in Starfox Assault, she had donned a full-body suit of stretchy blue-and-black material that made her look absolutely – there was no other word for it – sexy. (Author's Note: Forgive me. It's _very_ hard for me to write stuff like that.)

And if her wardrobe didn't get your attention, her _voice_ certainly will. It sounded like... like... I can't describe it. It's just so beautiful that I cannot put it into words. You just have to play the games to find out.

(Author's Note: I can't describe it, either. All I can tell you is that it fits her persona to a "T". Sorry.)

But sadly, I fear that Krystal is already taken. Prince Tricky hinted that the two of them would get married in Starfox Assault, and while Fox tried to deny it, I knew that he had had feelings for her for some time. Krystal had merely smiled and said nothing.

To make matters worse, after their latest mission before "Starfox Command", Fox had asked Krystal to marry him. And wouldn't you know it; she accepted! Why can't I be that lucky?! The only woman that was perfect for me had had to be taken by a "man" who couldn't even spit out his true feelings about her! sigh...

(Author's Note: This was not in any of the games. You will have to read "Reflections of Krystal" and "Reflections of the Future" on to find out what happened.)

But if Krystal had had a chance to come to _my_ planet and meet _me_ instead of Fox, I would have done everything I could to make her feel at home. Alas, if it were only true...

My story starts on night while I was asleep and yet another visitor to the Dream World. I was walking through one of the hallways of the Treatment Center that I had been down hundreds of times in the Real World. There was nothing out of the ordinary and I was about to continue on when I "saw" it.

A quartet of strange figures were standing in front of the door that led down into one of the access points of the sewers, talking amongst themselves. They seemed to be discussing how to get inside without setting off the alarm. The door was locked with an electronic keypad with two sets of steel doors blocking the access to the access point.

"Well... here we are," said one of them, wearing a black-and-white coat. "This is the first stop in our quest for domination."

"I'm aware of that, (...)," said a second, much darker voice. "The only problem is that we don't have two things."

"And those are...?"

"We don't have enough of the "cure" and this door is blocking our way to administer it into the water source. If we don't have either, we can't go ahead with the plan and everything will be all for naught."

One of the figures who was larger than the others cried out, "Then what did we come here for?! If we can't get inside, we can't start anything!"

The fourth figure put a hand on the larger one's shoulder and sighed. "Relax, (...). We'll get inside. We just have to find someone who can open it for us."

The first figure frowned. "And just how do you plan that we do that? The person who operates this door is gone for the weekend. And unless you plan to use your "feminine charm", we're screwed."

"Now, now, ladies. You will all get your chances to help out. In fact... (...), this is the perfect chance to test your (...) know-how. All you have to do is find the operator of this door and "convince" him to let you in. While we're busy with the "cure", you can see what makes him tick. If you're lucky, you could add him to our ranks with a little... persuasion."

The fourth figure chuckled to herself. "That's why you're the boss, (...). We can't even hold a candle to your intelligence."

But the leader's ego didn't seem to be as big as someone who had just gotten this kind of compliment. "We'll just have to make the circumstances match that of your Game World counterpart. He won't know what hit him."

Suddenly, the large figure looked behind her. "(...), I think we're being spied on!" The other three spun around, but I _still_ couldn't get a decent look at them. It was like they were all see-through at the moment, limiting how "solid" they were. I noticed, though, that the leader had the most evil glowing-red eyes I had ever seen before.

The leader frowned at me and raised his arm. "You know too much. Allow me to remove anything you have learned at this time."

I tried to run, but it hit me with a force unlike any other, wiping my memories of this event completely clean, causing me to wake with a start.

When I woke up, I remembered nothing about my previous night's experience. I was drawing a complete blank in my mind that nothing could fill. I tried for a few moments to remember what I was forgetting, but I came up with a big zero and finally gave up.

It was a Saturday morning and I didn't feel like playing my games just yet. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, so after I got ready for the day, I decided to go out for a walk. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that what I wanted was in the park just waiting for me today.

While I was walking through the park, I noticed that it was rather deserted for some reason. I didn't understand it. The park was usually packed with people on days like this, but today, there was practically no one here. Not even the birds were singing on this beautiful day. It was as if a great storm was about to happen, but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

As I walked along the path, I saw just one other person walking in the other direction. For some reason, he was wearing a _very_ heavy black-leather coat and hat, completely concealing his identity. He also had his hands in his pockets and the only part of him I could see was his bare feet.

But there was something different about his feet that I noticed. He seemed to balance himself on his toes, of which there were only three. They also looked like he had neglected to trim them and he was walking on his toenails. Not only that, but they were colored a deep violet – something I had never seen before in my life. I figured he must have been wearing slippers, but that didn't make any sense, either. He was covered from head to ankle and yet he was wearing slippers. Huh.

As the two of us walked past each other, I could have sworn that he reached out with his arm and _shoved_ me! Within half a second, I was sitting on the grass as the man continued by.

"HEY!!!" I yelled at him. "What's the big idea?!"

The man completely ignored me and continued on. I wanted to go after him and teach him a lesson, but I was against such behavior and took it like a man. Getting up, I dusted myself off and made to start walking again, but something caught my eye.

A small, plastic package was sitting on the ground where the man had pushed me as if he had dropped it out of his pocket when he shoved me. I looked down the sidewalk to call after him, but he seemed to have vanished completely from view. There wasn't anything to hide behind for a long ways, so I could not understand where he had gone. I wanted to do the right thing and return it to him, but if he wasn't here, I guess it was finder's keepers.

The bag was just a plain unlabeled Ziploc bag with something that looked like a shriveled fruit inside of it. I was wondering where I had seen something like that before, but curiosity got the better of me. I opened the bag and tipped the item into my hand.

I immediately knew what this was just by the feel of it. I could recognize the feel of latex blindfolded and this was definitely one of them. But there was something different about this one. It looked like it contained more mass than a regular balloon and it was colored in various blue and white shades. I wondered if it could really be... I had to make sure. I made a beeline back to my apartment and went to go try it out.

Back in my apartment, I locked the door and closed all of the windows. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but I didn't want any witnesses to see it. This was my balloon and I wasn't going to let anyone see it and take it away from me.

I located the mouth of the balloon and began to blow. It began to inflate all throughout its body, filling out and growing to a much bigger and... Oh... my... god... It _was_ her! The balloon was blowing out to match the shape and form of an sapphire-blue anthro fox resembling no one other than Krystal!

I recognized her details much easier as it grew larger. I was getting all excited as I pumped more and more air into it until I was standing up again with the full-form fox was standing at about my eye level. I couldn't believe that I was about to have a balloon animal friend that was the exact detail as Krystal herself. Just when I was about to run out of breath, I felt the balloon stop growing and stay level. I then closed its muzzle and stepped back admire my work.

Every detail of Krystal was completely accurate in this balloon form despite the fact that her "fur" was now made of balloon "skin". She was in her primitive form that she had been in in Starfox Adventures, including her brown "leather" clothing in the exact places as they always were. She had five slim, slender fingers with very white nails fused into the tips, her tail was the exact shape and scale as she did in the game, complete with the leather bands in the same places, but her footpaws were slightly different from the ones I had seen in the game. She had _four_ clawed toes on her balloon feet instead of three like I had seen. But then again, her debut version had been a little rough. In Starfox Assault, she looked much better than she did in Starfox Adventures, but almost her whole body had been covered in a blue-and-black leather battle suit, so her "finer" details had been covered up. Still, I could never forget those soft, sea-green eyes. Her face was one that will never leave my mind, so it was an added bonus to see it in real life.

I let the balloon bob in place for a while while holding it up, but then I let it go and it fluttered down to the floor. That was normal balloon behavior, animal or otherwise, so I simply picked it back up and placed it on my couch, sitting down next to it.

"I don't know why that guy left you behind, Krystal," I told it. stroking its glossy shoulder. "But I'll take very good care of you while you're with me."

I decided to show it just how much I cared about her by giving her a small perk on her rubbery nose before turning on the TV and watching whatever was on.

(Author's Note: As of right now, forget everything you know about Krystal's past. I am rebuilding it for this particular story, but only for a while. Remember from the last story that Krystal works for Darkheart, so this will all make sense soon enough.)

While I was watching TV, I suddenly felt the call of nature and hurried off to the bathroom, leaving the balloon to sit on my couch while I was gone. When I got back, though, I stopped before even setting foot in the living room. I could hear something moaning in the next room. I was unsure what I was hearing, but I _did_ hear _someone_ mutter, "Ohh... Where am I? I don't feel like I should. What... what is this place?"

I hurried into the living room and stopped in front of the couch in shock. The Krystal balloon was _moving!_ It was sitting on the couch like a normal person would and was trying to focus into its surroundings. I pinched myself to make sure I was still awake. It hurt very much and my sudden yelp alerted the balloon to my presence.

"Who... who are you? Why do I feel so strange? My fur doesn't feel like I should. What happened to me?"

Seeing her mouth move in the way it did in the game and the matching voice tone told me that this was Krystal's own. I was unsure as to what to do, but I crept forward to get near her anyway.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, sitting down next to her.

"I'm... not sure." Krystal put her paw on her temple and rubbed it for a moment, pausing when she heard it squeaking underneath her touch. She then held her paws in front of her face and flexed her fingers for a moment.

Just then, the expression on her face was that of pure shock when she put her paws over her face and felt her "fur".

"What...?! What happened to me?! What am I?! I... This doesn't make any sense! I'm made of rubber!" She then turned to face me, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please tell me, sir... am I... dead?"

I was unsure as to how to answer this. Would a living, breathing balloon count as being alive or just being an "animate" inanimate object? I knew that she was scared, but I couldn't leave her in the dark.

"No... you're not dead. You're..." I gulped. "A balloon."

"NOOO!!!" wailed Krystal burying her face in her paws. "This can't be! I _can't_ be a balloon! I'm alive! I'm supposed to be on my home planet, but..." She quivered as she took a shuddering breath. "I can't remember anything. I was flying my shuttle through the stars and then... nothing! It's not fair! I don't understand!"

I let her have a few moments to herself before I tried to reassure her. "It's okay, Krystal. I don't know about your old life, but I can help you adapt to your new one."

Krystal looked up at me with watery eyes and sniffled. "You... you would? You don't mind me being a... a freak?"

I smiled and put my hand on her paw. "You're not a freak to me. In fact, you're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It doesn't matter if you're made of rubber; I will take care of you just like I would take care of my sister."

Krystal looked me up and down, tears still streaming from her eyes, but then she smiled and gave me a big hug. I balked when the balloonie suddenly embraced me.

"Thank you! I promise I will not be a burden! I'm just glad that there are still some decent people in the universe."

I hesitated before I slowly lifted my arm and put it around her back. She was all alone in her new life and I was all she had. It was a dream come true to have both a living balloon and Krystal herself in my life. I was so busy trying to comfort her that I completely missed a smug smile under a mischievous look on Krystal's face. But when we separated, all traces of it had vanished. (Author's Note: ...)

Krystal wiped the tears from her eyes with a dull squeak and looked at me. "Thank you for helping me, sir. I'll try my best to get used to this new life."

I smiled and held up my hand. "You don't have to call me "sir". Just call me Rye."

"Rye..." she said, rolling the name around. "I like it. It suits you."

I blushed. "Thank you. No one's ever told me that before."

Krystal smiled. "You shouldn't be ashamed of it. I've never met anyone named "Skyle" before, but I like the sound that the name brings to me."

I sighed. She really _was_ as caring and as concerned as she was in the game series. It must have been really hard for her to wake up in a strange environment made of a completely different material. But I would do whatever it took to make her feel right at home here on earth.

I got up and offered my hand to Krystal. "Would you like something to eat? I bet you're probably starving by now."

Krystal blinked and then smiled, taking my hand and standing up. "Yes. I would like that very much. What do you have to eat?"

I shrugged and walked off towards the kitchen. "Let's see what I can whip up. You can go enjoy yourself for now."

Krystal did so, leaving me alone to browse the fridge to see what I could find to make a balloon fox.

While I was taking out a pot to make some noodles, I heard a small, muffled _thump._ It sounded like something had just exploded but the force of the explosion had been muffled. I shrugged and returned to filling the pot with water.

And then, I heard it again. It sounded like something had just popped and was muffled by something around it. I couldn't ignore it this time, so I left the water to boil and went to check out the source of the noise. A few more _thump_ sounds were heard before I found what I was looking for.

Krystal was in the spare room with all of my balloons and was taking one at a time and putting it in her mouth. At least it explained where those noises were coming from. Every time she put a balloon in her mouth, she would bite down on the rubber, causing the air to blow out of her muzzle and cause the distinct _thump_ noise. She would then swallow the shredded balloon scraps like it was a piece of candy and then immediately go after another.

"Krystal?" I asked, watching the Balloonie curiously. "What are you doing?"

Krystal gasped, nearly choking on the balloon she had just popped before coughing it back up. She spun around and looked at me with a frightened expression on her face.

"Skyle! I... This... I couldn't... help myself! Please forgive me!"

But I was not mad at all. In fact, I was curious to see a balloon eating another balloon. In a way, it was a form of cannibalism, but I guess balloons had to eat just like the rest of us. Their diets were just a little different than a human's.

"It's okay, Kryst. I actually figured that that's what you wanted to eat."

But Krystal was still surprised to see me sneak up on her. "I don't know what happened! I saw these balloons and they looked so appetizing somehow. I tried one out and it was so delicious that I couldn't stop! I'm so sorry! I knew they were yours, but I couldn't help myself!"

But I chuckled and shook my head. "It's perfectly fine. I've been wanting to do something with these party balloons for some time now. I never thought they would be a meal for another balloon. Go on. I want to see how you do it."

Krystal blinked and looked at the piles of balloons still in the room. "Uh... okay. If you say so..."

She took a green balloon and held it up to her muzzle. She sniffed it for a moment and then looked at me again. I smiled and nodded politely. Krystal took a deep breath and sank her rubbery teeth into the balloon, somehow enabling it to pop and be reduced to tatters. She then sniffed the scraps and stuck her tongue out to taste it. With a quick action of her tongue, she slurped up the balloon, chewed it for a moment and then swallowed it.

Curious, I walked over to her and sat down next to her so that I was facing her front. Even though most of her was a deep sapphire-blue color, I could still see what was going on inside of her. She followed my sight line and looked down at her belly. The green balloon scraps seemed to travel down an invisible path and then stopped at about the same place someone's stomach would be. It then started to dissolve and lose its color until it was reduced to a milky-white liquid. The liquid then spread out throughout her body, traveling along invisible blood vessels until it grew so thin that it vanished completely.

For someone who dabbled in balloons, seeing one digest its food for the first time was a strange experience. It normally took ten hours for a human to digest its food, but Krystal's system had taken less than two minutes to turn solid food into liquid energy.

I had to ask, though. "Where does it all come out?" I didn't mean for this to be an offensive question and Krystal didn't take it like that.

"I guess it goes to the rest of my body to make my skin stronger and more durable. I could feel my skin thicken slightly whenever I ate one of those balloons."

Well, that was one mystery solved. I didn't have to worry about any balloon "waste" appearing in my apartment because she converted it all into pure energy once it was digested.

I got up and helped Krystal get to her feet. She bobbed slightly when she stood up and toyed with her tail nervously.

"You're really nice to me, Skyle. I'll have to do something to pay you back someday."

I was just glad to care for her where no one else would. "It's alright, really. I don't need anything in return. Just the thought that I am spending my life with my ideal woman is all I need in return."

Krystal giggled and gave me a perk on the cheek before leaving the room. I was left standing in pure shock. I had barely met her and she had already given me an "X" and an "O". Could this get any better?!

While I was eating my noodles, I had found a box of disposable rubber gloves that I normally used while cleaning for Krystal. They were of the latex variety and she was more than happy to make a meal out of them. But like the woman that she was, she ate politely while in my presence, chewing her food several times and then pausing in-between bites. I couldn't help but smile at her. She was really someone who knew how to act in the presence of a "gentleman".

While I was eating, I happened to look up at her and spot a ball of white liquid inside of her that had not yet been digested. It looked slightly tube-shaped with a stopper in it, but it was hard to see through the distortion of her body.

"Hey, Krystal?"

"Hmm?" she said, pausing in the middle of her 12th glove.

"What's that?" I gave her a little poke to indicate where the liquid was suspended. "Didn't that digest yet?"

Krystal looked at the spot for a moment and I could have sworn that her eyes went wide for a moment. She did not answer right away, but instead took a moment to clean up her spot.

"Well?"

"It... It's a pocket of liquid that I can use for sudden energy later. I don't know why I didn't notice that, before."

She seemed slightly nervous about this subject, but she stood up and abruptly changed the topic.

"You said you had seen me before, didn't you?"

I blinked but ignored it. If she didn't want to talk about something, I guess I had to respect her wishes.

"Yeah..."

"Where exactly did you see me?"

I stood up and went into the living room to show her my Gamecube and games. I handed her my "Starfox Adventures" and watched as her eyes went wide again.

"This is... this is me! How can this be?"

"That's not all. Look at _this_ one." I dug out my "Starfox Assault" case and traded her for it.

She stared at the cover and then at the group shot on the back with her, Fox, Slippy and Falco posing with their weapons. She took a moment to run her fingers over the case, taking in the details of her in her battle suit. She also put a hand on her belly, running it over her rubbery skin for a moment.

"I... I never knew. I look much different here."

I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder. "There's another Starfox Game out there with you in it, but it has you in pink and your details aren't as good as either of these.

Krystal stared extra-long at the differences between the Starfox Adventures case and the Starfox Assault Case. She seemed to be considering something, but she couldn't be sure.

"Should he be... him... or him?" she muttered under her breath, comparing the cases.

"Krystal?" I asked.

Krystal snapped out of it and shook her head. "Nothing. I was just thinking about my old life."

I took the cases from her and opened the Starfox Adventures case and removed the disc. "If you want, I can show you how you started out in this game. Maybe this will answer some of your questions."

Krystal's expression was blank before she answered me. "Sure. I would like that."

I patted her on the shoulder and fired up the game. It just so happened that I had a game saved at the part in the game where Krystal came into play the most – near the very end. But out of respect for the vixen, I decided to start at the very beginning where Krystal first arrived on Dinosaur Planet.

Krystal watched in awe as I played out the very beginning of the game with her and the Cloudrunner taking on General Scales' airship. She gasped in horror as she watched herself get thrown off the side of the ship but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Cloudrunner catch her and fly off to the Krazoa Palace.

I was "in control" of her as I navigated through the first part of the Krazoa Palace and ultimately ending up getting the first spirit. But when I went to release it, the Balloon Krystal could only watch in horror as _something_ (and I knew what by now) knocked her into the energy stream and locked her in that crystal chamber, thus bringing her up to the machine that the presence had prepared to drain her life energy.

But when the scene shifted to the Great Fox and the Starfox Team, she suddenly started panicking and went up to the TV as if the answers were being taken from her.

"What?! What's going on?! What happened to me?! Who was that?! Skyle!" she whined, looking at me with a pouting expression. "Why did it do that?!"

I held up my hand. "That's the last time you were free until the end of the game. You see that person?" I added as Fox McCloud came into view during the cutscene.

Krystal nodded.

"Well, I play as him for the rest of the game, but here's what happened in a nutshell..."

I went on to explain how the planet was falling apart and how Fox discovers Krystal's staff and uses it with a young Earthwalker Prince to find the four Spellstones and return them to the Force Point Temples. He then realizes that the Spellstones aren't enough and he needs to finish what the Game Krystal started and return all the Krazoa Spirits to the Krazoa Palace as well.

When Fox arrives with the second spirit, he finally meets Krystal, although she was not awake to witness the meeting. He took a moment to admire her (Krystal blushed when I told her this) before Peppy brought him back to his senses and told him to get on with the mission.

Three more times, Fox returns to the Krazoa Palace to drop off three more spirits. Finally, it came to the point where I had had a saved game at the Krazoa Palace where Fox gets the last Spirit to help free Krystal.

I loaded the save slot and went about things as usual. I had done it many times before, but I was doing it special for my friend so that she knew what happened. She watched as Fox "defeated" General Scales only when the presence that had imprisoned her game self intervened and Scales dropped dead in front of him, releasing the final spirit.

When Fox finally released the sixth spirit, the power of all six spirits managed to overload the machine and free Krystal. But she was suspended over a hole and was about to fall to her death when Fox used her own staff to save her at the last second.

But right away, she was not so much worried about _her_ life as she was about Andross', who had possessed a Krazoa statue and took off into the stars. Even though she had the right idea to try and attack it, her accuracy and strength were less than impressive.

I played through the final boss as Krystal watched on, mystified until I finally shot Andross down in flames and the ending cut scene played out. When the scene shifted back to the Great Fox and Fox's victory, she was about to ask what had happened to her when I pointed to the screen. Game Krystal's shuttle arrived and she boarded with the rest of them. The expression on Fox's face was priceless and she could see that she had had an effect on him. She could tell that he had never talked to a woman before and was even blushing when it went to the credits.

I turned off the Gamecube and looked at the Balloonie. "Well, Krystal... What did you think? Does that answer a few questions?"

Krystal looked off in one direction, unsure of what to say. She seemed to be thinking long and hard over what she had just seen. She was silent for the longest time before she shook her head sadly.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember any of that. I could distinctly remember being on my home planet, boarding a shuttle off of it. But I didn't make it far enough before my planet collapsed and I was drawn into that black hole. I can remember a strange crushing feeling... and then my fur felt strange for a moment... and then... I was here. That's it. That's all I can remember."

I sighed and sat down on the floor next to her, rubbing her rubbery body soothingly to comfort her. She had obviously been through a lot, but now she was stranded here, in a form that did not belong to her and with a person she had never met before. I could finally understand what she was feeling and what she had lost in her journey.

Krystal sighed and stood up. "I need some time to myself. May I sleep in your bed tonight?"

I blinked but then shrugged. "Go ahead. You deserve it. Sleep well."

Krystal did not return the thanks but instead went to my room, muttering under her breath all the way. I figured she just needed some time alone to think about what she had seen.

Since it was already past 9:00, I figured it was time for me to turn in as well. I was tired and I was looking forward to seeing Krystal for the second day of her new life. I figured that if she was still around after a good night's sleep, then that would confirm that she was real. I slid my socks and pants off and climbed onto the couch and threw a blanket over me. I was looking forward to tomorrow with great enthusiasm. Right now, I just wanted to sleep.

Meanwhile, Krystal had been waiting until Skyle had fallen asleep before she sighed and shook her head. "I'm glad _that's_ over! I don't know how much longer I could keep up this act. He seems to know what he's doing, but he's doing it all for nothing. When I finally get my maw around him..." She chuckled darkly and licked her chops hungrily. "...we'll see. But still..." She suddenly looked melancholy. "There's just too many unanswered questions here. Why do I look exactly like that game version? How did he know everything about me already? I just... don't get it."

Krystal sighed and rubbed her temples squeakily. For some reason, all these questions were making her head hurt. She knew that she shouldn't have been able to feel pain like normal people did, but every time she thought about what she had seen, her head would hurt and she would draw a complete blank. It was like there was something missing that should have been there. She just didn't understand it. Who was she? Why did she look just like that video game vixen? It just didn't make any sense.

(Author's Note: Is there more to Krystal that what she knows? I'm not saying, but you'd better keep reading!)

Just then, Krystal heard a high-pitched note echoing in her head. She shook her head to try to rid herself of the noise, but when it persisted, she realized what it was.

He was here.

Krystal snuck out of the bedroom and levitated herself off the ground a few inches to keep her squeaking to a minimum. She didn't want to wake Skyle, but she had to answer the door quickly.

Finally reaching the door, she dropped back down to her feet and unlocked the door before pulling it open. Standing in the doorway was the form of her master, creator and fellow Synthetic, Darkheart.

Darkheart was a Synthetic Balloon in the form of a creature called a "Shadow Lugia". He normally took the form of a great bird of darkness, but at the moment, he had shifted his form to that of an anthro version of himself. He stood on two long digitigrade legs and had a pair of arms with five slim, slender, nail-less fingers on each hand. His torso had a large lavender-colored mark on it and he had ten similarly-colored plates on his back. His old wings, though, were not lost. They had simply moved to his shoulders like where a dragon's would be. His tail was long and thick and was tipped with two pointed lavender spikes. Finally, his head and face were unchanged from his true form. Two burning, silver-lined eyes looked out from behind a pair of pointed, dagger-shaped masks that were surrounded by a red mist that was normally white with most people and they were currently looking at Krystal with interest and a calmness that slightly scared her.

(Author's Note: This is just an abbreviated version of Anthro Shadow Lugia's form. You can get a better description in "Dreams Come True 4 and 5". I have to do this twice more in this series, so please forgive my haste and vagueness.)

Darkheart looked one of his creations up and down for a moment before folding his hands together and stepping inside, nudging Krystal to one side with a flick of his wing. He said nothing as he walked through the kitchen to the living room where Skyle slept. He stopped in front of him and stared at him with a frown. He despised these human creatures and was currently putting together a plan to rid the planet of them once and for all.

With Krystal watching in anticipation, Darkheart knelt down and placed his hand on Skyle's forehead, muttering something under his breath. Nothing noticeable happened, but Darkheart stood back up and looked back at Krystal.

"He will not hear us for the rest of the night. I have locked him in the Dream World until 9:00 tomorrow."

Krystal sighed. She felt better now that she didn't have to keep her voice down to talk to her master.

Darkheart went over to Skyle's spare chair and sat down on it, taking a glove from the box Krystal had been eating from that afternoon and tossing the latex into his mouth with a snap. When he was finally satisfied, he leaned forward and folded his hands together.

"So... tell me how it's been going so far."

Casting a quick look at Skyle to make sure he wouldn't hear her, Krystal started to tell her master everything that had happened to her today. She elaborated on the story she had told Skyle to keep him in the dark and even bragged about how she had "pretended" to show interest in his personal life.

All the while, Darkheart listened to her story, drinking in every word she told him. He would occasionally take another glove from the box and chew it while she continued on.

But when Krystal brought up the subject of the video game that she had seen herself on, Darkheart's expression became stone-like.

"You are forbidden to ask me about that, Krystal. Do you understand me?!"

He was projecting some of his psychic anger directly into her, threatening to implode her. Krystal whimpered and answered, "Yes, Master! I won't say a word!"

"Good." Darkheart released his hold on her and watched her gasp for breath. "I have more important things to worry about than trivial matters about your origins."

The sudden attack on her had left Krystal nearly breathless. She knew all too well what he could do with those powers of his and she didn't want to be on the wrong end of them. She tried to catch her breath as Darkheart asked her something important.

"Does he know?"

Krystal took a deep breath and sighed before shaking her head. "No, sir. I haven't proceeded with the plan yet." She braced herself for another attack, but Darkheart did no such thing.

"I understand. You needed a day to get Skyle's trust. But by tomorrow night, I expect results. I will be awaiting your confirmation that the cure has been planted. If you fail to report your status, I will be most displeased."

Krystal bowed. "Yes, sir. But..." She hesitated. "May I ask you one serious question about the mission?"

Darkheart nodded. "You may."

"Not a lot of people are going to like seeing a Synthetic walking around in their plant. Is there some way I can blend in with the rest of them?"

Darkheart thought about this for a while, trying to figure out how to answer this important question. He finally stood up and looked at Krystal.

"Stand still. I have a temporary solution."

Krystal stood as still as a balloon could as Darkheart's eyes glowed a bright red. She suddenly felt weightless as she was lifted a few inches off the ground. Her balloonie body felt as if it was turning hard and crystallizing. She felt tingly all over as she blacked out for a moment and then came to again. When it was all over, Krystal was back on her feet with a strange sensation washing all over her.

"This should do. This will get you inside without _too_ many problems."

Krystal opened her eyes and looked at herself... and nearly screamed! Her rubbery, furry body had been turned into a _fleshy,_ furry body! She now had skin like humans did that was covered in a coat of sapphire-blue and white fur just like her video game self did. She could feel like she was real and upon closer inspection, she felt solid flesh underneath.

"What... is this?"

Darkheart smiled and put his hand on Krystal's shoulder. "This is something that I was working on in event of this situation. Your outer form is that of your counterpart's body, but your insides are still latex-based. You are still immortal, but your internal system can now handle both Synthetic and Organic foods. In other words, you are a Bio-Balloon."

Krystal could hardly believe it. She was "real" in a way and she was about to cry from the pleasure of the feeling.

"But... if you can do _this,_ why do you want to turn the rest of the world into Synthetics?" She immediately clapped a paw to her mouth.

But Darkheart understood her question. "This form is only for those that I believe deserve it. While they are still balloon-like in nature, it's something I thought I'd throw in the mix for those who have earned it. Do not ask why I think this – I cannot explain it with words."

Krystal bowed again. "Yes, Master. I can't wait until Skyle sees it."

Darkheart stepped forward and used his wing to pull Krystal dangerously close to him. He then whispered a warning in her ear. "Do not forget, my dear Krystal. You are still a Synthetic internally. If you do not follow through with my plan, I _will_ detonate you and use your scraps to make a more "loyal" follower."

The vixen gulped. "Yes, Master. You won't be disappointed."

Darkheart released her and added one more thing. "I have left you a small gift in the bedroom for your loyalty. I hope you try it on before Skyle awakens this morning. Until next we meet, I wish you a good night."

Krystal blinked and watched Darkheart walk back to the door and open it. With one more look at her, he left the apartment and vanished before the door closed behind him. She sighed and sat down in the same chair. She knew she had been given a great gift, but she had to use it effectively or Darkheart would destroy her anyway. She was so tired that she fell asleep in the chair without even getting out of it.

While the two had been conversing, a spy had been watching and listening in on their every action. Hovering outside Skyle's apartment, a Balloon Lugia by the name of Rye had been sent by his mate to follow up on a hunch involving the Synthetics. He had heard every word and had even watched Krystal's conversion into a Bio-Balloon. If Darkheart could do _that_ without even trying, then it was just as Sirius had predicted. His powers were growing and something had to be done before things got out of their control.

With a sigh, Rye turned in the air and flew back to his hideout. Sirius was going to be very concerned when she heard this news, but right now, that was all he could do for them.

I woke up at 9:00 on the dot. I couldn't remember the last time that had happened, but the fact that I had slept like a rock made it worth my time and energy. When I got up, I felt nice and refreshed like I had never slept before.

My first task this morning was to find out if yesterday was all for real or if it was all a fake. I had to find Krystal. Thankfully, I did not have to look far; she was sleeping on the chair right next to my couch.

At first, I thought I was still dreaming. There was _no way_ that this could be real! And yet, when I pinched myself to make sure I was still awake, it hurt very much, ruling out the possibility that I was still asleep.

A full-fledged, flesh-and-blood, furred vixen Krystal was fast asleep on my chair just a few feet from where _my_ feet were. She didn't look like she was made of latex at all. In fact, I had to feel it for myself. I sat up and crept closer to the sleeping vixen. I tried not to make any noise, but I couldn't control my shallow breathing. I wanted to feel her just to confirm that she was real.

I was just a few inches away when I saw Krystal's ears twitch and she slowly opened her eyes. I froze in place, dangerously close to touching her furry belly.

The two of us looked at each other for a moment before Krystal smiled and chuckled lightly. "Yeah... It's real. Go ahead and feel."

I paused for a moment before finishing my advance. Sure enough, her fur was soft and warm just like a living animal. I started with a finger stroke and then placed my whole hand on her belly. I couldn't help myself. She was just so soft!

Finally, I got the sense to back off, looking at Krystal in shock. "How is that possible? You were made of rubber last night!"

Krystal smiled and stood up, stretching and yawning. "I guess you could call it a wish come true. I was up late last night and I saw a shooting star. I guess I wished that I was real once again and it came true. But..." She hesitated and looked at her body in disappointment.

"What?"

"I don't feel... complete... somehow. It's like I'm real, but my insides don't feel real. It's like I'm still part-balloon inside of me."

My expression fell slightly but recovered quickly. "That's not so bad. At least you can feel and walk like a normal person now. At least something's better than nothing."

Krystal had been in the process of checking her new body's flexibility by poking her belly when she looked up. "Yeah... I guess it's okay. At least it's a start. But... I still have a big craving for some latex. You... wouldn't mind... would you?"

I smiled and patted her on the back. "Sure. Whatever you want."

I went to my rubber room and dug around in the closet for something special for her. I had an old rubber raincoat hanging in there that I knew would keep her fed for a while. When I brought it out, I showed it to her and watched her lick her chops hungrily.

"That looks _good!_ I can't wait to try it!"

She made a grab for it but halted in mid-grab, her expression falling.

"It's just as I thought. I'm still a balloon inside. It... It's not fair!"

She started to cry, but I came to the rescue. "Relax, Kryst. We'll find something to do about it sometime. Until then, I think I have something you'd like." I handed her the coat and she held it in her paws uncertainly.

I went to one of my cupboards and pulled out a half-loaf of bread. Digging out two slices, I brought them over to her.

"How about a rubber raincoat sandwich? I think your new form lets you have regular food along with latex. Try it out!"

Krystal looked at me for a minute and then handed the coat back to me. "Why don't you do the honors?"

A few snips of a scissors later and I had a nice chunk of the raincoat cut out and slapped between the two slices of bread. I figured that it was going to a good cause, so waste not, want not. Krystal took it in-between her paws and sniffed it before taking a test bite. Both rubber and bread were consumed easily and she chewed it for a moment before swallowing.

A moment's pause and then...

"This isn't so bad! It's been so long since I've tasted real food. And the latex still tastes as delicious as ever. Thank you, Skyle."

I blushed and nervously scratched my head. "Anything for a friend."

Krystal went into the rubber sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days and before long, she was picking crumbs off of her muzzle. "That was good! I can't wait to try more!"

I smiled and went to my kitchen to see what else I could make for her. "I'll whip you up something special. I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

Krystal smiled in return and went to my room. "I'll just be in here while I wait."

I nodded and went about preparing her a nice Bio-Balloon meal.

(Author's Note: He called her that on a hunch. He has no idea that that's what Darkheart actually called her.)

While Skyle prepared her a proper breakfast, Krystal had gone to his room to check on the "special gift" that Darkheart had given her. She was looking forward to what her master had made for her.

When she got there, she found a treat lying on Skyle's bed. It was a full-sized replica of the battle suit that her digital counterpart had been wearing in "Starfox Assault". It was covered in what looked like treated leather and rubber. And while this piece was not as appetizing as any other rubber items, she knew that this was just for looks. It must have been part of his plan, so she decided to try it on.

Unstrapping what little clothes she had on, she blushed once she was fully undressed. She felt embarrassed. She hadn't been in the nude for quite some time, but she still chuckled when she saw what was underneath.

Trying not to look at herself, Krystal unzipped the back of the battle outfit and slipped a leg into it. It was a rather nice and snug fit. It felt like she was putting on a suit made of her fellow Synthetics. It was nice and warm and it fit her exactly right so that it wasn't sagging in any places.

She then slipped her arms into their sleeves and pulled her paws into their full sockets, fitting her fingers around the leather strap that held the sleeves in place via her palms. There was even a nice little hole for her furry tail to fit through.

Once she was all dressed, Krystal reached behind her back and pulled the zipper all the way up. The collar wrapped all the way around her neck and she felt her body fit into the built-in bra. She then hooked the two metal belts together that came attached to her waist and stood up to look at herself in the mirror.

She didn't look half-bad. She looked more like a warrior than anything else. It made her feel lithe and lovely. She could grow to like this in time. She also figured out why Darkheart had sent her this suit in the first place. Other than making a decent fashion statement, this suit would help her disguise herself when she finally infiltrated the water treatment center to dump the cure for her master.

After posing for herself, she left the room to see what Skyle would think.

I was putting the finishing touches on Krystal's first breakfast as a Bio-Balloon: pancakes with rubber cement instead of syrup. Yummy! Well... maybe for her. I was just setting the table when she came out to eat.

Oh... Oh! Oh! Oh! Hommina! Hommina-hommina-hommina-hommina-hommina! Someone please kill me, for I am not worthy of this sight! I swear I was finally dead and gone to a place better than Heaven!

A perfect match to the Krystal on "Starfox Assault" had just walked out to stand in the doorway to the kitchen, complete with her suit and everything that came with it. Not even the _Gamecube_ version could compare to this much detail!

"K... K... Krystal?!?!" I could hardly believe what I was seeing! I was not worthy to see such a magnificent fox!

Krystal looked herself over like there was something on her suit. "What? Too tacky?"

I muttered to myself and shook my head rapidly. "N-N-N-No! Not at all! I just think... you're... you're..." I gulped and finally spit it out. But what came out was not what I had intended. "Booty-ful!"

I wish I could have died on the spot. I couldn't believe what I had just said! I... I...

However, Krystal seemed to understand. She walked up to me and wrapped her tail around my waist. With a smirk, she put a paw on my cheek and turned my head to look at her.

"I figured you would be overwhelmed, so here's something to think about."

Without hesitating she planted her muzzle directly on my lips, holding it there to give me a nice, long kiss. I could hardly believe my luck! I had just scored a kiss from a creature that wasn't supposed to exist and yet is more beautiful than the gods themselves. I WAS NOT WORTHY!!!

The kiss continued for about ten long, pleasurable seconds before she finally detached from me and went to eat her pancakes.

I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. My nerves were shot and I was about to collapse on the spot. I had just been given a kiss by the most beautiful woman in my life and I was going to crash and burn here and now.

Outside the apartment window, Darkheart was getting annoyed with Skyle's shaking and sweating. Krystal was never going to get anywhere if he didn't get a grip on himself, he was going to be late for work and Krystal was going to miss her deadline.

So against his better judgment, he targeted Skyle with his mind and sent a psychic wave at him to get him to snap out of it. He did not understand what made human males so susceptible to a woman's charm. He figured it would all iron out in the end.

Finally, I seemed to get my emotions under control. It was as if some divine intervention had allowed me to get my head on straight. I realized that Krystal was beautiful, but I couldn't let that go to my head. She was my friend and I had to respect that.

I watched Krystal eat her pancakes in silence, taking note of her expression when she tasted the rubber cement. At least I knew she still liked her sticky sweets. When she was done eating, she pushed the plate in front of her and patted her lithe belly.

"That was good, dear. I really enjoyed it."

I nodded. "Thanks, Kryst. I was glad to make it." I put the plate in the sink and cleaned up after her.

She then asked me an important question. "Can I come with you to work?"

I froze and looked at the clock. It was nearly 10:00. I had a half-hour to get ready for work! If I didn't get a move on, I was going to be late!

"Yeah, alright. I just need to get a move on! Could you get me something to drink so that I can grab something when I get out?"

Krystal nodded and smiled at me. "No problem. I'll make you some nice hot chocolate."

"Thanks, love." I then went to take a shower and get ready to go to work.

While Skyle was getting ready to go to work, Krystal got up and got a cup of water to boil in the microwave. She then measured out enough of the chocolate mix to make it especially chocolaty. She didn't want to disappoint him when she was so close.

But while Skyle was in the shower, Krystal decided to go ahead with her plan ahead of schedule. She knew that her new form would not be as suited to converting Skyle's body into what she wanted, so she had to soften him up a little.

Standing over Skyle's hot chocolate, she worked up her balloon-like insides to draw from the vial that Darkheart had stored away inside of her before her mission had started. This was the perfect time to try out his new mixture. Her insides gurgled a little as she forced some of the liquid up her throat and into her mouth.

To the naked, eye, it looked like she was vomiting in his drink, but what she was actually doing was drawing some of the "cure" from the vial in her belly and pouring it into his chocolate. The liquid contained a pure latex mixture that was supposed to liquefy a human's insides and make him or her more susceptible to when it was finally converted.

Krystal wiped her muzzle with her sleeve and used a spoon to stir the liquid into Skyle's hot chocolate. She couldn't help containing a small chuckle to herself. He wouldn't taste a thing, but his body would hopefully react to it before too long. Then to cover her tracks, she went into the fridge and pulled out the ingredients to make him a bologna sandwich with cheese just how he liked it.

When she was all done, she sat patiently in the living room, waiting for Skyle to come out of the shower.

When I was finally squeaky clean, I put on some new clothes and finished getting ready for work. When I was done, I came out to find Krystal sitting on the couch, a fresh, hot cup of hot chocolate and a bologna and cheese sandwich waiting for me on the table in the kitchen. I smiled and grabbed a bag to put the sandwich in.

"Krystal... you didn't have to go _this_ far."

Krystal shrugged. "I guess that's how I am – always giving."

I nodded and took a drink of the chocolate. It had cooled off just enough that I wouldn't end up burning my tongue. What's more, it tasted slightly better than it was supposed to somehow. I chuckled and looked at Krystal without saying a word. It was something about a woman's touch that always seemed to bring out the true flavor in something.

Krystal did not take her eyes off of me as I downed the entire cup in just three long draws. When I put the cup in the sink, I missed a small smirk stretching across her muzzle.

"Well, love..." I said, grabbing my things. "Shall we?"

Krystal nodded and followed me out of the apartment.

When I finally got to work, I went about things as usual. I checked the water sanity level, tested the mineral level of the purified water and everything else that I normally did. Krystal simply followed me around, not saying much and doing as she was told whenever I needed her help.

Speaking of Krystal, she was getting a fairly decent amount of stares and glances in her direction. The men working here had all taken their girlfriends to work at one point or another and I guess it was just my turn this time. They would often become so distracted by watching her watching me that they would occasionally trip over themselves or run into each other in the hallways. My female co-workers all had the same expression on their faces: jealousy. Not a single one of them could compare to her in looks and beauty and they knew it. They would give her looks of loathing that Krystal seemed to tune out after a while. Some of the employees also seemed to be trying to decide whether to stare at her or call Animal Control. She was just that beautiful and unusual.

I can't remember when work had ever been so quiet. Every time Krystal and I entered a room, the volume would suddenly drop and be replaced by an uncomfortable silence. I figured that they were all as awestruck as I was when I first saw her in her blue battle suit. It would eventually pass and they would be chatting away without a single worry.

Krystal, meanwhile, was on her best behavior. She ignored all of the funny looks she was getting and was always willing to help me out by handing me a tool that I needed or would help me confirm a reading on a valve that I would ask her to examine. And even though her nose was more sensitive than mine, not once did she complain about the smell. I guess as a Balloonie, she can choose when her senses wanted to work. We were working together like a well-oiled machine and I was getting my work done much faster than even on a good day.

Finally, there was just one more area I had to check – the water output room. It was the last stop on my route throughout the plant and thanks to Krystal, I was an hour ahead of schedule. I noticed for the first time that Krystal was growing nervous and excited. The instant I had used my keycard to gain access to the room, she had suddenly started bouncing on her heels and going a little haywire in her mutterings.

"What's eating you?" I asked when I closed and locked the door behind us. "I've never seen you so jittery."

"I guess it's the heat of the moment." That was all she said. I didn't understand it, but she refused to say anything more. I shrugged and went around the corner to do a few tests to check the water cleanliness, leaving Krystal by herself, looking over the sides of the railing at the treated water down below.

While I was taking my final notes for the day, I suddenly felt a little ill. My stomach was acting up and making noises similar to someone with diarrhea. But I didn't feel like I had to go to the bathroom. It was more like my insides were turning into jelly. I felt violently sick and quickly threw up my lunch into a garbage can. Everything I had eaten that day, including the hot chocolate came up and I dropped to my hands and knees, gagging and gasping for air. I could not understand why I was so sick, but right now, I just needed a little air.

But what I walked into seemed to cast doubts on what was really wrong with me.

I had just run into Krystal in the middle of dumping a large container full of milky-white liquid into the treated water. She had just emptied one whole beaker and was ready to take a second one from a second figure that appeared out of nowhere.

Unlike Krystal's current state, her "friend" was sill in its balloon-based state. But it was rather hard to tell because its shadowy-violet body was almost completely solid. (Author's Note: Long story short, it's Darkheart in his anthro form!) I thought I was hallucinating, but when the humanoid balloon looked at me, I could have sworn that Death itself was looking at me.

"Krystal, what...? What's this? What are you doing? Who is this?" I was so weak and shocked that I could barely get above a whisper.

The second creature looked at me with piercing sliver-lined eyes for a moment. Then before I could react, it made a twisting motion with its wrist and I keeled over forwards, my mind completely blank and unconscious.

Krystal couldn't help herself. She had let out a small, almost inaudible gasp when Skyle's eyes suddenly rolled up in his head and he fell to the ground. She knew that Darkheart would know how she felt towards him and it could be her invitation to death.

Darkheart sighed once Skyle was unconscious and then turned to look at Krystal. "Do not tell me that you have developed feelings for this human fleshie?"

Krystal continued to stare at Skyle before she snapped out of it. "Of course not! I answer to you and no one else! How could you think that?"

An unseen nerve in Darkheart's temple twitched at this last comment but he said nothing to retaliate. "Then you won't mind if you convert him right in front of me, will you?"

Krystal looked like she had seen a ghost. She looked at Skyle's spread-eagled form in shock and then back at her master.

"But... why?"

Darkheart frowned at her. "Do you not remember what you swore to do when I brought you into this life? You swore your loyalty to me and I expect loyal followers to _follow_ my every command. Do it."

Krystal looked at Skyle again and her courage failed. She just didn't have the heart to do what her master wanted to the only person who had shown her true kindness.

"I... I won't."

Darkheart's temper was rising. "What did you say?" His voice was dangerously calm.

"I won't do it! He's been the only one who's ever treated me better than you have! He understands me and treats me with kindness and understanding! I won't swallow him and you can't make me!"

Darkheart's look could have split steel. He was literally swelling up with rage. His rubbery body was growing in size and his form was changing from his anthro one to his true one. Within 30 seconds, he was more than double his original size and in his true bird-like form. Krystal trembled with fear and seemed to deflate slightly, even though she was still in her Bio-Balloon form.

"How _dare_ you disobey my direct orders! Perhaps you've forgotten who it was that brought you into this world and gave you this form! Well, let's see if I can jog your memory!"

Darkheart's eyes flashed and Krystal suddenly felt numb all over. When she looked at herself, she was shocked to see that he had transformed her back into her balloon form. Her fur had disappeared, leaving only a flat color where it all was. Her body suit had vanished, too, along with what little clothes she had started with, leaving the frightened vixen naked and vulnerable in the wake of her frightening master.

Then to add injury to insult, Darkheart spread his wings wide and looked directly at Krystal with burning eyes. She suddenly felt like she was choking. It was strange to see a balloon unable to breathe even though it was full of air. She put her rubbery paws to her neck and tried to pull the invisible noose from around her throat. Also, to make matters worse, the air that was already inside of her began to burn and sting, torturing her from the inside. It was agony unlike anything she had ever felt before. She was dying and Darkheart was showing little if any mercy.

Just when it felt like she was going to burst from the pain... it stopped. Krystal dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath and hurting all over from Darkheart's attack. She couldn't help herself anymore. Tears began to appear in her eyes and she wept freely, not caring if her master saw her crying.

Darkheart, meanwhile, had lowered his wings and was now looking down at the weeping balloon. He had absolutely no remorse for what he had just done and proved it by giving a sinister smirk across his beak.

"Do you understand it now, Krystal? I brought you into this world and I am the only one who can take you out. You are full of my breath and therefore, you belong to me. You seem to forget the most important rule of Synthetics: Only the one who first breathed life into a Synthetic can fully destroy it. Since you are under my power, I can destroy you without getting my wings dirty. You have no power over me, my dear vixen. If you wish to survive in this world, you would do well to follow my orders. Now..." He put a "feather" under her chin to get her to look at him. "Who do you serve?"

Krystal continued to sob, liquid latex tears dripping at her paws. "I serve Darkheart. You are my master. I serve no other." She had said this in a toneless voice, as if she was being manipulated to say it.

Darkheart grinned. "Good. Now... finish your mission. Consume the human and convert him for your master."

Krystal knew that she had no choice. She had to do it or else Darkheart would kill both her _and_ Skyle. At least she could give him a new life as a Synthetic. She couldn't keep him in his human form, but she knew just the form to give him. Darkheart had no say in the matter, regardless of what he said. It was the last good deed that she could do for her first true love.

Krystal slowly got to her feet, walking slowly over to Skyle's unconscious body. She could not believe that she was going to betray a friend, but she knew that the alternative choice was much more dreadful.

Sitting down on the floor in front of Skyle, she picked him up and looked at him for a moment. Only two words escaped her lips – "I'm sorry." – before they opened wide and she stuffed him inside.

He tasted wonderful, but Krystal forced herself to hate it. She was consuming her best friend in front of her cold-hearted master and she felt absolutely rotten for it. She would never get his taste out of her mouth, no matter how long it took. It was just part of her shame for this cold-blooded act.

As Krystal stuffed more and more of Skyle's body into her mouth, she felt him sliding down her throat that had been created after consuming all of that latex in her short relationship with him. Not only that, but an entire digestive _system_ had formed from the pounds of rubber she had consumed. Skyle would be coming to rest inside her stomach, which functioned slightly different that a human stomach.

As Skyle's feet disappeared into her muzzle, her jaw returned to normal and she felt him slide all the way into her stomach. At least he would not be witness to what was going to happen to him. That thought gave her some slight comfort in what she had just done.

Most unfortunately, Darkheart heard this particular thought loud and clear. "Now, why should he miss out on the biggest change of his life? I think he should experience this for himself."

Krystal suddenly looked horrorstruck. "No... Please, master. Let him die in peace. I can't stand to bear the thought of him suffering inside me. Don't do this."

But she might as well have begged the sun to stop shining for all the sympathy she got. Darkheart shook his head and sighed.

"You brought this on yourself, Krystal. You should have consumed him without arguing the point. Now you will have the honor of listening to his final words as he dissolves inside your gut."

Krystal's tears started to flow again. She was blinded by such injustice and unfairness that she couldn't keep her face straight. She could only watch as Darkheart gave his tail a quick flick and she felt Skyle awaken deep inside her.

Before Skyle fully came to, Darkheart shifted back to his anthro form and smiled mischievously. "Turn him into something worthwhile. I look forward to seeing the two of you serving me in the near future." He then spread his wings wide, causing them to grow in size until they were able to fully cover him. Once he covered himself with his wings, he glowed a bright blue before disappearing from the room altogether, leaving Krystal alone in the room with the dying Skyle.

I did not recognize my surroundings when I finally woke up. I was curled up in a small space and it smelled strongly of latex in here. Not only that, but there was a gross liquid splashing all over me in this confined space.

I tried to move, but I couldn't break out of the chamber. I was unsure what to do but I suddenly panicked when I saw that I was surrounded by a familiar blue color.

"What...?! Where...?! Where am I?! What happened to me?! Krystal!!! Where are you?!"

To my enormous surprise, I heard her all around me. "I... I'm here... my love... I'm here for you." It sounded like she was crying.

"Krystal! Where am I? What were you doing out there. And... who was that next to you? _Please_ tell me, Krystal! I'm scared in here!"

Krystal took a deep breath and spilled it all. "I ate you, Skyle. You are inside my belly. You are going to dissolve into living latex in just few minutes." Without waiting for me to respond, she continued. "That was my master, Darkheart the Shadow Lugia Synthetic. I was pouring a chemical called "Latex Lore" into the water. It's all part of his plan to turn the country into Balloonies like me. I didn't mean for this to happen, Skyle! I can't tell you how sorry I am! Please forgive me!"

I could live with the tainting of the water supply; it would probably clear out before it his the nation's water supply. But the fact that Krystal had _eaten_ me and I was going to _dissolve_ was unspeakable!

"Why did you do that, Kryst?! I thought there was something between us! I don't want to die in here! I don't want to turn into liquid rubber! Please get me out of here!"

Krystal let out a wail of sorrow and rubbed her belly to try and try and make me more comfortable. "I'm so sorry, my love! I had no choice! I _had_ to eat you or Darkheart would have killed me!"

This didn't make any sense. "You sacrificed _me_ for _you?!_ How could you?!?! I thought we would sacrifice _ourselves_ for each other, not the other way around!"

Krystal patted her belly, causing the liquid around me to splash on me. It tasted like rubber cement and I spit it out and gagged on it. "Please listen to me, Skyle. I can't save you now, but listen to me before you speak."

I sighed and crossed my arms in frustration. "This had better be good!"

Krystal whimpered and took a slow breath before she started speaking again. "In a way, you are dying, but your human body is simply dissolving into a special rubber material. Your mind and soul will still be alive, but they won't function in this life anymore. Once you have been fully converted, I can bring you back to life from your fluids, but..." She broke off.

"But? But what?!"

Krystal whimpered again. "You will be a balloon like me."

The shock of what she had just said made yelling and screaming completely pointless. I simply sighed and tried to keep my legs out of the goo that was splashing around my death chamber.

"It's really not that bad, Skyle. You will be completely immortal like me. You will be able to manipulate your body into different forms. Even though your body won't be human, I can turn you into something that will make the two of us more... "compatible", so to speak."

"And what might _that_ be?" I couldn't see how the two of us could be "compatible" if I wasn't a human balloon.

"I can turn you into an anthro fox just like me. We can live out our lives together, even though Darkheart will control us. The fact that we will be together will be much more bearable than serving Darkheart alone. Do you understand, my love?"

I thought about this for a moment. She had a point. I could no longer escape my fate, but if I was going to be a fox just like Krystal, I was just fine with that. I could feel my legs going numb from rubbery goo that was consuming me. I watched them lose their color and become a thin, milky-white liquid. I was being "converted" and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I understand, my love. I may not be able to escape this, but the fact that I'll be spending eternity with you makes me feel much more confident."

From up above me, Krystal smiled and slowly rubbed her belly. "Thank you, Skyle. I knew you would understand. I'm sorry that this had to happen, but at least we'll be together now."

My legs were gone and now my torso was starting to liquefy. "You're very welcome. Now if only this would hurry up, then we could get on with it. Besides, Death this way doesn't seem so bad."

Krystal chuckled hopefully and finally stood up. "Well then, let's speed up the process, shall we?"

I nodded. "Go for it. I'm ready for this."

Krystal nodded and started bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, sending my "bodily fluids" splashing all over the rest of me. In a way, it felt like I was getting a bath, but I was pretty sure that normal baths did not end with you dissolving in the end. By now, my arms and torso had both been reduced to rubbery goo, leaving just my head and neck soaking in myself.

Krystal stopped bouncing and looked down at her belly. "Skyle...?"

"Yes?" I said, my vision starting to fail.

"I... I love you."

I smiled at her comment. She had said it and she really meant it! Finally, my human life felt like it was well worth living. I sighed as my vision went black.

"I love you, too. See you on the other side!"

And with one more bounce, the goo had completely consumed me, removing my human existence from this world. I had a few moments to bask in the glory that Krystal really loved me before everything went black and I knew no more in this life.

Krystal closed her eyes and gave her now-bloated belly a soft pat. "Sleep tight, my love. I'll make sure we meet again somewhere nice." She knew that Skyle could no longer hear her, but it made her feel confident that she had done Good by making Skyle's last moments worth living to their fullest.

Now all she had to do was find a way out of here without being seen. She no longer had her Bio-Balloon advantage and people were likely to ask questions if they saw a balloon with a liquid-filled belly walking through their facility.

But try as she might, she could not find a rational way of escaping this room undetected. The door was locked via key card and Skyle had been wearing it when he had gone in. There was no way to escape through the now-tainted water, either. The vixen had a good ten gallons of human latex inside of her and she couldn't afford to waste a single drop trying to squeeze through the pipes. She was really at an impasse.

But just as she was about to give up hope, Krystal smelled something that reminded her of vanilla. She hadn't smelled it in a while, but it was awfully familiar.

She turned around and suddenly, it all made sense.

"Hello, Seryn."

One of Darkheart's fellow Balloonie henchbeasts and Krystal's close friend, Seryn the Balloon Flammie, was standing in front on the door to the rest of the facility. She was unlike any other balloon Krystal had seen so far. Instead of taut, rubbery skin, Seryn's body was covered in a glossy, liquid-like "fur" that felt like she was made of water. She was a strange creation and Krystal could not understand how Darkheart could have created a Synthetic like this.

Thankfully, Seryn and Krystal were on the same page and both believed that Darkheart was a cold-hearted mastermind.

"Need some help, Kryst?" said Seryn, offering her paw to her. "Darkheart sent me to get you out of here."

Krystal nodded. "I do, actually. But... you're not going to report me to him, are you?"

Seryn blew a modified raspberry in mock annoyance. "You know I would never do that. You're lucky that he chose ME instead of that tightwad Shannon."

Krystal nodded. "She wouldn't have given me _any_ space. I'm glad he chose you. So, shall we get out of here?"

Seryn nodded and the Krystal turned around to press her back against Seryn's front. Seryn wrapped her front paws around her and whispered in her ear. "Hold on; this might be a little strange."

Krystal smiled and Seryn repeated the method Darkheart had used to disappear, but with all four wings. Krystal suddenly felt weightless and empty for a moment before she felt solid earth under her footpaws once again.

The two of them separated and Krystal saw that they had teleported to a forest clearing just outside of town.

"Thanks, Seryn. I owe you one."

Seryn nodded and spun around in place before her body seemed to collapse into a small wormhole with a little POP! She had probably gone back to Darkheart to tell him she had completed her task. This gave Krystal about a two-hour window before Darkheart would be wondering where she was. It was just enough time to rebirth Skyle and get everything ironed out before she had to report back to him.

Not wasting any time, Krystal shook her belly a few times, listening to the liquid sloshing around inside of her. She took a deep breath in through her nose and then out through her stomach, reducing the amount of air in her belly and forcing some of Skyle's fluids up through her throat. Like what she had done in his apartment, she "vomited" into her mouth and coated her tongue with the liquid. Mixing it with some of her own saliva to create a binding agent, Krystal pursed her lips and began to blow.

At first, it simply looked like she was blowing a bubble from bubble gum, but _this_ bubble began to grow and grow, far exceeding any regular bubble that any human could blow. Krystal kept up a constant supply of liquid into her mouth, adding to the bubble's size and thickness. It took about 20 minutes to fully empty her belly, but Krystal finally managed to produce a 10-foot-diameter creation that looked just like a massive milk bubble.

Once she had fully expended her fluids, Krystal bit down on the end that was still in her mouth, following up with a little dancing of her tongue and then another bite. She then took the nozzle of the balloon in her fingers and pulled it out of her mouth. She was only half as tall in physical size as her creation.

Now that she had something to work with, Krystal had to figure out what she was going to turn this balloon into. She knew what animal she was going to make it; that part spoke for itself. But she had to get the image right in her head, otherwise it would come out wrong and she would have to start over again.

A few minutes later, she thought she had the right picture. She opened her mouth to blow again... and stopped. For some reason, _that_ form wasn't quite what she was looking for. It just didn't seem... appropriate. Skyle had given his life to be reborn in style. And since she was not one to disappoint, she figured she might as well give him his wish.

With a new picture in her mind, Krystal took a deep breath and began to blow into the bubble again. But this time, she was not breathing air into it. This time, she was breathing life and definition into it. It began to take shape and form, still colored a milky-white. But once it had shrunk to her appropriate requirements, it began to change color.

However, unlike the fox form that Krystal had promised Skyle, this one was more draconic than anything else. It turned a deep, jet-black with various points of crimson dotted around it. It took the form of a handsome yet dark anthro dragon that could have rivaled Darkheart in terms of a threatening appearance.

When she had finally breathed every last bit of definition into the new dragon balloonie, she took the stopper out of her mouth and pushed it into the back of Skyle's new throat. After taking a moment to admire her handiwork, she gave the new dragon a firm, wet kiss, injecting Skyle's mind and soul into the form to complete the conversion.

The next thing I knew, I was taking my first breath as a Balloonie, but what I first saw was not what I had expected.

I was not in the form of a fox at all. Instead, I had the form of a lean, muscular black dragon. I stood on a pair of digitigrade feet with three "sharp" crimson-red talons on each on. It was a little different to change from plantigrade to digitigrade, but I figured I would get used to it. All the way down my front was a series of crimson plates like a dragon's chest.

My arms were thick, lean and muscular and there was a series of red stripes running along the tops of them all the way to my five-crimson-clawed hands. I put one of those hands up to my face and felt a pointed draconic muzzle that made up my face with two pointed ears sticking out of the back of my head. I also had a "pre-molded" crop of crimson hair like a dragon's mane. The hair wasn't detail, but I knew that it was there, so I left it alone.

Blowing out of my backside was a long, thick, black tail with a series of similar crimson stripes all the way to the tip. But the main event was the pair of thick, black wings growing out of my back. They looked bat-like in appearance and I found that I could furl them and unfurl them by letting air in and out of them.

When I was finally done, I spotted Krystal and looked at her, my face full of confusion. Only one word escaped my muzzle: "Why?"

Krystal smiled and gave me a squeaky hug, our bodies making music as they rubbed against each other. "I have my reasons. Let's just leave it at that."

Even after what she did to me, I still trusted her more than I trusted myself. If she had a reason for turning me into a rubber dragon, I had to trust her judgment and go along with it.

Listening to the noises our rubbing bodies were making, I whispered in her ear, "I guess the squeaking will never stop, will it?"

Krystal chuckled and put a paw on the side of my face. "No. We'll be making music forever. I guess you get used to it after a while, huh, Vexx?"

"Vexx? But... I thought... I was..." For the life of me, I could not remember my birth name. It was like it had died back when I did. I suppose it made sense now. I had been given a new life and therefore, I deserved a new name.

"Yeah... Vexx... Say, Krystal..."

"Hmm?"

"I've got these new wings." I indicated them. "Would you like to go for a little flight?"

Krystal couldn't have looked more pleased. "Sure, why not? Let's enjoy our last free hour together. Take me away, my noble dragon."

I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her front. "Hold on. This might get a little bumpy."

Krystal said nothing as I flapped my wings and gained altitude faster than a bird could on a windy day. I was going to enjoy my freedom with Krystal before I had to go back to Darkheart with every ounce of my being. This was something that I wanted to embrace for myself before I went back to reality. Krystal had given me a new life and I planned on taking in every wonder that it had to offer.

From their hideout, Darkheart was alone with Seryn and Shannon. He had just been informed of Krystal's whereabouts and was savoring his latest victory. He was sitting in silence, his wings fully extended to help him meditate. The Flammie and the skunkie said nothing as they awaited their master's next orders.

Darkheart said nothing for the longest time. He was deep in thought and no one dared disturb him. Finally, he folded his wings in but did not open his eyes.

"The cure has been delivered. Now we need the means to distribute it. Shannon..." The skunk stood bolt up-right.

"Sir?"

"You are to find out where the device is headed and intercept it before it can be passed on. Your mission takes place far from here on the other side of the country. Find the device and bring it to me. You have your orders."

Shannon nodded and left the hideout without a word. Out of the three of them, Shannon the Synthetic Skunk was the most loyal to Darkheart and she intended to prove it. Already, she knew just who she wanted to help her get to her master's goal. She would show Krystal and Seryn just who was the superior Synthetic here. They were too soft at heart and tended to mess up. But with Shannon's determination, she was going to be the one to help her master triumph over the fleshies.

It was just a matter of time...

**To be continued...**

Coming soon from shadowlugia249:

"Latex Lore Chapter 3: A Pop-Marked Man" – Shannon's mission

"Latex Lore Chapter 4: Bye Bye, Balloonies" – Seryn's mission


	3. Chapter 3: The PopMarked Man

**Latex Lore Chapter 3: The Pop-Marked Man**

_By shadowlugia249_

Author's Note: I'm on a roll with this series, so I might as well start on the next chapter in the "Latex Lore" mini-series. That's about it. Enjoy!

In the back room of the magical shop of Plushtopia, an aged, wrinkled old man known as Karmen Aridos was on the phone with one of his special contacts. He was rather nervous because the "situation" was already starting to get out of control. The "problem" had already gone beyond his reach and he was starting to worry that things would escalate from there.

"...and how do you know where he's headed next?" Aridos muttered into the speaker. He paused, listening his contact. "Are you sure? ...I see. I guess I should know better than to doubt _your_ intellect. Uh-huh... Yes... Is that right? This is bad. If they get their hands on that device and get it operational, who knows what they could do to the country? Do you know where it is at the moment? ...It's not here yet? Well, who has access to it? ...I don't think that they would be going for just _anybody._ It has to be someone they can manipulate and use to their advantage. Do you know one such person? ...No? Well, it would be a good idea to find out who it is and which one of them he is going to send. ...You do? Who? ...That doesn't seem so bad. She's not likely to present a problem. ...Oh. If she's _that_ loyal, this could be a bad thing. ... Oh, you will? Now? Okay. But... Hmm... You have a point. No, I don't think it's fixable. We'll just have to work fast before they can get everything together. ...I'll do that. In fact, I'll get right to work to find a way that that can happen. I don't know if they'll like it after _that_ happens, but it's the least I can do. Alright. I'll get right on it. Thank you for telling me this. Uh-huh. Good-bye."

He hung up the phone and began working on a solution to their problem. He had to work fast. If they had already filled the oceans with the "cure", then he was running out of time. He had to find a way to fix the cure and to do that, he needed to do some research. Time was of the essence and something that he did not have much of.

He went to his potion-making kit and began whipping up a solution to their problem.

My name is Rio Caster and I have a fetish that most people would find disgusting. No, I'm not like _that._ I'm actually one of the people who can work with this kind of fetish and not suffer the consequences. And way out here in the wilderness, I see plenty of them and have even made a few friends among them.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about the local wildlife. More so being the _skunk_ variety. Yep, I dig skunks. I tend to go out in the woods in my spare time to see if I can attract the smelly mammals.

But to call them smelly would be an insult to their nature. True, they reek like hell if you happen to be on the wrong end of them. But that's only if you give them a reason to. I consider myself one of the few rare people that can walk up to a skunk with enough kindness not to get sprayed.

I guess I just have a knack for keeping them calm without really trying. I'm just that kind of person that they seem to trust naturally. I can approach them gently enough that they _want_ to be near me. All of the other animals seem to be wary of me, but the skunks don't seem to mind me at all. I've even managed to get a fair number of them to eat from my hand.

I toke up roost about three miles from town and about six miles from my job at a private government project at a secluded and underground bunker. What do we do? I'm not supposed to tell you, but you didn't hear this from me.

We were testing and monitoring a brand new kind of satellite called the Omega III. It's not one of those basic GPS satellites or space telescopes that can look at the stars. No, this kind of satellite is the first of its kind. It is able to fire a special microwave-type sound wave that has the ability to instantly vaporize water.

Yeah, I know. It sounds kind of corny and pointless. But there's a reason we are working on it. This is a private government experiment that was being tested to help reduce the levels of water in the event of floods.

Before you question it, let me explain (but don't tell anyone!). When a river tends to overflow or a city is swamped by a flash flood, we just position the Omega III directly above said disaster area and fire off a beam of microwaves at various intensities to help vaporize the water within a random area and dry up the flooded area, turning the floodwaters into harmless mist that eventually evaporates into the atmosphere. Granted, visibility is limited for a while, but we're working on a way to make it evaporate faster.

But our success is limited at the moment for one reason – disease. The contaminated floodwater mist tends to carry any and all diseases that can taint water resulting in people breathing it in and getting sick. But we're working on that as well. We're monkeying with different intensities and wavelengths to try and destroy any possible bacteria that might be in the air, turning the contaminated floodwaters into harmless mist. So far, we've managed to get a lock on a way to turn simple rainwater into harmless misty, but it's a work in progress and we're always working on it.

In the end, we're trying to help the environment and save people money for flood-damaged properties. Wasn't that nice of us to think of the working man like that?

Anyway, we're still working on it and I'm not allowed to tell anyone except my immediate family (of which I have none), so let's just keep this between us, all right? Good.

At first, I thought my life was rather dull except for my job as a programmer for the Omega III, but then something happened that completely threw my life and my status for a loop. It all started with a dream...

Was it a dream I had or was it a dream I heard about? Was it a dream I can't remember or was it a dream I _won't_ remember? Was it a daydream or was it a nightly dream? All I know is that there was a dream...

I was inside the Dream World in a scenario that looked just like the mountain area that the bunker where I worked lied underground. I was sitting on the raised ventilation shaft that delivered fresh air to our bunker, just chilling and kicking my legs without a worry in the world. There was nothing to suggest that anything was going to go wrong.

Boy, was I wrong. As I looked off in the direction of the bunker entrance, I saw two strange figures stealing across the snow towards the entrance. There was something odd about them, so I hopped off the ventilation shaft and ran after them.

They were at the front door and were talking between them. From what I could hear, the first voice was dangerously calm, cold and dark while the second one was more of a sweet, mischievous female one.

"I don't think anyone saw us," said the first voice. "Not that it would matter anyway. I am more than capable of dealing with them on my own."

The second figure smiled and bowed before the first one. "That's why you're the master. We got here without being detected and we have you to thank for it. It's not like (...) and (...) could do any better."

The first figure sighed and shook its head. "You should not doubt them. True, they may be cowards when they are faced with their backs against the wall, but they are still loyal and that's all that matters."

The second figure paused for a moment before speaking. "What about (...)? Your plan only comes in two parts and there are three of us. Will she be of any use in the end?"

The first figure sighed again and turned to look off in a different direction. "I am not sure about her. She does not seem to have much use for me. She and (...) may be in league to overthrow me – not that they could. I'll consider her uses and make my decision after this next part is taken care of."

The second figure chuckled to itself. "If you want my opinion, I suggest that you get rid of her ASAP. She really doesn't have any uses once you think about it." But a look from the first figure shifted its mood. "But that's just me, sir. The final decision is yours and yours alone."

The first figure nodded. "That's right. And don't you forget it."

With that, the subject was dropped and the two of them turned back to the front door in front of them.

"I think to gain access to this place, you're going to have to do a little... change of perspective on this one."

"What do you mean?" The leader whispered the plan in her ear. Unfortunately, she was less than impressed with the idea. "Are you sure it's the only way? (...)'s not really my thing."

The leader nodded. "It's the only way you'll be able to gain his trust. But that's not all. Here's the second part..." As if he knew I was here, he whispered the second part of his plan to his follower. When she heard it all, she was not impressed whatsoever.

"Aww... Do I have to?" She didn't need to wait for a response to that. "They're such primitive creatures, And I am clearly above such pathetic lifeforms."

The leader shook his head. "Don't worry. It's only to gain his trust. Once he believes you, you may change back."

The follower huffed a little but finally gave it. "Alright. But just because I'm so determined to see this through. See ya." And with that, she walked off into the woods, leaving just her master in front of the bunker.

But just as I was about to wake up, the figure turned to look directly at me. I realized I was spotted and tried to run. But it seemed to move like greased lightning and appeared in front of me. I was looking up into the face of a monster and froze solid.

"You have seen too much for your own good. Allow me to relieve you of these memories."

I was powerless to stop him from sending a blast of white light into my mind, wiping the dream and my memory of this event completely clear.

The next thing I remembered was waking up that morning without a single memory of that particular dream. I was lying in my bed, looking up at the ceiling without any idea what had happened last night.

But even though I was mentally in the dark, I found that I was itching to go outside. It was like I had an obsession with the outdoors today and I couldn't wait to go. Crawling out of bed, I got ready for my day and then went out for a walk like I always did. I had a feeling that something extra special would happen today.

While I was out, I decided to visit the den of some of my skunk friends. I knew from experience where they lived and made straight for that area. They were always happy to see me and I was always happy to see them. They had taken up residence in an old, hollowed-out log, which is where I was headed.

But when I got there, I was greeted by a strange sight. My regular skunk friends were nowhere to be found, but there WAS a skunk there that I could see. But when I saw it, I thought I was seeing things.

The skunk that was sleeping in the log wasn't the regular black-and-white-furred kind. Instead, it was colored a bright rose... PINK!!! I thought something was wrong with it because I had never seen a _pink_ skunk before. Everywhere that it should have been black, it was a rich, rose-pink and where it should have been white, it was a lighter pink than the rest of it. This was truly a strange sight to behold.

The skunk heard me coming and woke up to look right at me. I froze, fearing it would attack. But after a tense stare-off, the skunk seemed to warm up to me and meandered over to me. I put my hand on its head... and immediately withdrew it.

I had _thought_ something was wrong with it. There wasn't a single hair to be found on it. Instead, its "fur" was made out of a kind of rubbery material. It felt like I was touching a _balloon!_ (Author's Note: Ding, ding, ding! What do we have for him, Johnny?! smile)

This was the most bizarre skunk I had ever seen in my life. It was like I was looking at a living, breathing balloon. I had to get a feel for it for myself. I had picked up many skunks in my life without getting sprayed, and this one posed no threat.

Sure enough, its weight could be measured in feathers. It was super-light and the feel of its "fur" on my arms confirmed that it was made of rubber latex. I held the skunk up to my eye level and stared at its shining, blue eyes.

"Well, little guy..." I said, trailing off for a moment. "You're really something else, you know that?"

The skunk simply looked at me, its expression blank.

I sniffed the air around the skunk and it was confirmed that it was a balloon. But suddenly, the smell of it seemed to knock something loose in my mind. It was like I had just been thrown into auto-pilot from the rubbery smell of it, but I couldn't be sure. I simply shook my head and stared at the skunk again.

"Would you like to come home with me? I could use the extra company."

As if it had understood me, the skunk nodded and purred a little. I smiled. Something told me that this was no ordinary skunk and I wanted to find out what it was that made it so special. So I placed the rubber rodent on the ground and walked off with it cantering after me.

When we got back to my cabin, I noticed that the skunk had fallen behind. It was nowhere to be seen and I was standing at the door in disappointment. I had thought that it would have trusted me and followed me home – it certainly had been excited to come home with me. I sighed and made to open the door.

"Are you going to leave little old me out here in the cold?"

I hesitated for a moment before turning around. I had heard a voice and... oh... my... god...

Coming out of the woods was a rather impressive figure colored the same pink shades as the skunk that had followed me home. But this figure stood on _two_ legs and looked more "human" than the animal I had first seen.

The figure looked skunk-like in nature – I could see that from the _huge,_ bushy, striped tail that was curled up behind it. Its tail was roughly twice its height and was certainly the same design as a skunk's. I could see two pale-pink stripes along it that matched its animal form and it was frayed at the tip to give it a "furry" appearance.

But its tail was just part of the wonder that stood before me. The figure was feminine in nature; I could tell by the two ample swells on its chest. But unlike regular females, they were bare, giving it a kind of "censored" look. Its front side was the same pale-pink as its tail stripes were and went up to its cute, skunk-like muzzle. Unlike real skunks, this one did not have a pink nose (there was plenty of that on the rest of it). Instead, its muzzle was more fox-like than what it was supposed to be and its nose was colored a shiny black.

The creature stood on two, long, lean legs with just four clawed digits on each of its digitigrade feet. Its arms and hands, though, were humanoid in appearance, but all ten of its fingers were each tipped with a pointed claw.

Finally, the creature's eyes were gorgeous clear-blue color and it had a head of long, violet strands of rubber hair that looked like a mane of violet tentacles. They went down to juts below its shoulders and each strand took on a life of its own whenever it moved its head.

I stared at the new balloon (yes, it was still made of rubber) as it looked back at me with a smile across its face. The creature (I guess I could call it a "she" now) simply grinned and shook her hair like a hair model. I gulped and tried to find my voice, but my tongue was currently in a knot and I couldn't speak.

The balloon giggled and crossed its arms. "Aren't you going to invite me in? It's getting rather chilly out here."

I swallowed hard and then held the door open for her to come inside. "Sure..." I said, barely believing what I was seeing. "Come on in..."

The pink skunk chuckled and walked past me, pausing for a moment to wrap her enormous tail around me and pulling me inside with her. I was so amazed at her beauty that all I could do was go along with her wherever she brought me.

Once we were finally inside, the balloon placed her paws on my shoulders and gently pushed me into a chair. "You should relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I doubt I could hurt anyone at all."

I nodded blankly and allowed her to stand over me. There was a faint smell in the air that I could not recognize that rendered me defenseless to stop her. It was like she was giving off a kind of balloon pheromone that I could not fight. Finally, she went to go sit down on another chair, her tail wrapping over the top of the head-rest.

"So... I hear you are quite the skunk fanatic."

I blinked and then nodded. That smell was starting to make my mind go blank. The pink balloon seemed to notice this and muttered to herself, "I'm getting nowhere with this. Please snap him out of it."

I failed to understand what this meant as I continued to gape at the marvel of nature.

(Meanwhile, on the outside, a shadowy figure heard her words and used its powers to snap Rio out of his trance so that they could get on the same page.)

All of a sudden, I finally got my head on straight and looked at the pink rubber polecat as if she had always been there. She smiled and tried speaking again.

"I guess I have that kind of effect on people. Not too many people see a humanoid pink rubber skunk out in the open, I guess."

Now that I was finally seeing straight, I could respond clearly. "Yeah, you are one of a kind. Might I ask you..." I gulped. I had never spoken to a woman like this before. "Who _are_ you?"

The skunk looked impressed with something. "You're the first person to ask _who_ I am instead of _what_ I am. I admire that. Just because I like you, I'll answer both." She stood up and bowed politely. "My name is Shannon. I am a Synthetic Skunk and it's very nice to meet you."

She walked over to me and held out her paw. I looked at it for a moment before smiling and holding out my own hand to shake it.

"My name is Rio Caster. I guess you know about my skunk fetish."

Her paw felt like I was grabbing a liquid-filled rubber glove. It felt warm and cushiony under my firm grip and she was rather soft with her handshake.

"I do, actually. I saw you hanging around a den of some friends of mine. I followed you here because I think that I can trust you."

I smiled. "Of course. I'm always willing to take wild animals in and give them a good home until they're ready to leave."

I didn't notice it, but there was a faint _squeak_ like rubber stretching as something in her face contorted before she regained her composure. She smiled and sat down on the arm of my chair.

"I'm glad you are so understanding, but..." She looked down at her stomach, which gave a distinct grumble as if on cue. "You wouldn't happen to have anything I could eat around here, would you?"

I looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "That depends. What do people like you eat?"

Shannon wrapped her tail around my shoulders affectionately. That tail was starting to become a nice distraction. "I eat latex. Anything rubber or latex-made that you have. Balloons, gloves, raincoats – anything of the sort. Just not tires. I can't stand the taste of tires of any kind. Do you have anything?"

My expression fell slightly. "I'm not sure. I might have something, but it won't be very much."

Shannon shrugged. "Whatever you have will be fine. I can make do with enough until you can go into town."

She was assuming a lot, but at the moment, I didn't care. She was hungry and she wanted latex. And since I had never denied a hungry animal food, I decided to see what I could dig up. Shannon moved as I got up and started looking for anything made of latex. And I had a good idea of where to start. I had some rubber dishwashing gloves under my sink, which should be enough for her. Unfortunately, the insides of them were lined with a thin layer of cotton, so I was unsure what she would think of them.

Regardless, I went straight for them and pulled them out to offer the skunkie. "Will these do?"

Shannon took one of the gloves and examined it. Her expression when she saw the cotton was inconclusive, but her answer was definitive. "They'll work. I'll just cough up the parts I don't need." She then looked at me and smirked. "Why don't you watch? I'm sure you'll like what you see."

I didn't know what to make of this, but I did as she said. Shannon rolled the glove into a rubber version of an egg roll and she stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. She chewed it for a moment, her rubber teeth shredding the glove like it was candy and then swallowed it. I could see the remains of it sliding down her "throat". Even though I couldn't see her innards, I could see them moving along a preset path. It then stopped at the part of her where her stomach would be for a moment. Then it began to stretch, warp and "goo-ify" as it was being reduced to a strange white liquid. It lost all of its yellow coloring and became nothing but milky-white goo. And then, it moved from her "stomach" and began to spread out throughout her body. It looked like it was being absorbed into an invisible bloodstream and was spreading out more and more until the liquid vanished altogether. The final result was that Shannon's pink body became a little more opaque. It wasn't much, but it gained a little more darkness to it to tell me that she had gotten a little stronger from her meal.

"Wow..." I said, speechless. "That was cool. Does it always do that?"

Shannon nodded and patted her belly. "Every time. Soon, I'll be all but impossible to pop."

"You can pop?" I said, amazed. "But won't that kill you?"

Shannon was about to answer when her stomach started making noises. "Heads up. Here comes that cotton." I quickly pointed to a trash can and she ran over to it. Instead of kneeling over as if to vomit, she stood over it and her insides gave a loud _squelch_ before she spat out a large white ball of fluff into the basket. She then stuck out her tongue and shook her head.

"Cotton-lined gloves always give me indigestion. Let's not do that again."

I went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll try to find ones that don't have cotton on them next time. In fact..." I looked at the clock to see that it was only noon. "I can head there right now. I'll grab what I can and bring it back for you."

"Can I come?" said Shannon innocently. "I promise I won't be a problem."

"I'm don't think so. Not a lot of people will like the idea of a giant pink rubber skunk walking around with me."

Shannon frowned. "Then we'll go together as one." When I looked at her with an eyebrow raised, she smiled and grabbed my shoulders. "It'll be easy. Come here!"

Before I could respond, she had spun me around and wrapped her paws around my waist, pinning me against her front. I wanted to squirm away, but all of a sudden, I felt cold all over and my nerves froze up. I couldn't move and Shannon was holding me even closer to her. In fact, it felt like she was holding me _too_ close. I could feel her warm body starting to overcome me and my skin was being invaded by a warm, rubbery material.

It was then that I realized that she was _absorbing_ me! Her body was melting and she was pulling me inside of her! I couldn't move an inch as her gooey body wrapped all around me and pulled me all the way inside of her. I was practically being _eaten_ by a living balloon!

But when it was all over, I was standing inside Shannon's body like a full-body pink suit. My legs were surrounded by her own and my arms now had hers around them with my fingers inside hers like some kind of rubber glove.

When I finally regained control over my body, I looked out through the distorted pink skin at "my" hands.

"Shannon! What did you do?! I can't go out like this! Let me out of here!"

But Shannon "borrowed" control of me to pose a little as she looked at a mirror on a nearby wall. "You're simply wearing me now. You and I are sharing the same body, except I'm the one on the outside."

But before I could complain, Shannon simply held "our" finger up to her lips. "Shh. I can fix this so that no one will know the difference. Watch."

Shannon opened her mouth and I was greeted by the sound of escaping air. I could feel her starting to deflate, restricting my moving space even more. I realized that I was going to run out of oxygen very shortly, but to my immense shock, I felt fresh, clean air enter my lungs as if there was nothing wrong.

Pretty soon, Shannon had wrapped herself around me so tightly that the only way to tell I was inside of her was a thin, flexible extra skin all over my body. Her skin had even changed color so that it matched every single shade and detail of mine to a "T". If I could see myself now, I would have looked even better. And when I looked behind me, I was relieved to see that I had no tail to speak of. Neat!

"See?" she said, speaking directly into my ears. "This isn't so bad, right? Now you and I can go into town together and no one will be any the wiser."

"Yeah..." I said, feeling slightly more energetic than before. "You're right. You feel great! I don't know why I was against this at all! Thank you, Shannon."

I could "feel" Shannon's pleasure as I went to go get my shoes on. But when I did, I felt Shannon's feet mold around them as well.

"I don't want anything to stick out, love."

I suppose that made sense, so the two for us left the cabin and drove towards town to go on a little shopping spree.

Three hours later, Shannon and I returned with several bags of balloon goodies. We had located a number of rubber gloves of the dishwashing and disposable kind along with bags and bags of party balloons and a couple of bottles of rubber cement that Shannon had told me were a balloon's candy of choice. Also, we had grabbed a couple of Silly Putty containers. She told me that it was something that she could chew on like gum and contained enough nutrients to keep her going for a few days for each one.

No one had noticed at all that I was wearing a living, breathing balloon. Despite my body being slightly thicker than before, no one noticed a thing. It was like it was the perfect disguise. The only problem now was, how do I get out of her?

"I can fix that," Shannon said when I brought this up. "Hold on a moment."

Shannon opened her mouth again and took several deep breaths, once again reinflating herself and regaining her pink hues. Now, I was once again standing in a giant rubber skunk, but that was soon remedied.

I felt a sudden push underneath me and I was starting to lose my footing on the inside of her. Shannon opened her mouth wide and gave an enormous _heave,_ expelling me out of her body like a regurgitate meal. I flopped onto the floor and lied there for a moment, trying to get over the strange sensation of being thrown up.

I managed to sit up, but I soon realized that I was completely covered by the same milky-white liquid that had been inside of Shannon. I was completely drenched and I smelled rather ripe of rubber.

"Ohh..." I groaned, trying to flick the slime off my body. "I'm a mess. I think I need to take a shower."

Shannon nodded. "It looks like it. You go on ahead. I'll find a snack in these bags for the time being."

"You do that," I said, walking as lightly as possible to avoid sliming the floor. Once I got inside the bathroom, I removed every piece of clothing on me and threw it all in a pile. I would wash it later. Right now, I just needed to get clean.

While I was in there, I heard a small knock on the door.

"I'm in here, Shannon!" I called out to her.

But against all common sense, Shannon opened the door and slid inside. I did not understand why she didn't take the hint. And when she threw back the curtains, I nearly had a heart attack.

"Shannon! What are you doing in here?!"

"I can't stay away from you, my love. I need to be with you always."

"But... But..." I couldn't get it out. Shannon had climbed into the bathtub and had closed the curtain behind her.

Now, I was on my own. Never in my life had I been naked with a woman in the same room before. I knew that this was no ordinary woman, but still, it made me feel uncomfortable.

But Shannon seemed to know what she was doing. She turned around so that her tail was pushing me away and opened her muzzle to drink in the water coming from the shower head. It was a little odd to be standing in a shower and not be getting wet, but I said nothing as Shannon continued to quaff more and more of the running water.

I could see her body filling up with the water, starting at her feet and working its way up her legs. When it reached her backside, her tail started to be filled with the amazing liquid. Within three minutes after starting, Shannon's body was completely filled from head to tail with water, slightly plumping out her features and turning her into a giant water balloon. Then with the water sloshing around inside of her, she climbed out of the shower and gave me a small smirk.

"Just you wait until tonight. I've got something special planned for you."

I was unsure what to make of this, but I finished my shower and got out like I always did.

But when I got to my room to get dressed, I saw the bloated Shannon sitting on my bed, looking smug. I was embarrassed to have her still see me in the nude, but Shannon didn't seem to mind.

"I've been waiting for you, love. Now you and I are going to have some _real_ fun!"

I did not understand this, but when Shannon stood up and turned up her tail on me, I was too shocked to respond. Shannon raised her tail and expelled the water she had guzzled through her backside at me. But when it hit me, I realized that it was no longer water. It reeked of latex and was of the same consistency as the slime that had covered me earlier. I tried to block the spray, but the thick slime was still coming and it was starting to slow me down. It was starting to build up and I dropped to my hands and knees, trying to look up through the spray. But still, it kept coming. It had covered me in such a thick blanket of it that I could no longer see or breathe properly. I dropped to the ground and finally gave up. I was being cocooned by the rubbery liquid and I had lost the fight.

And still, Shannon continued to spray until every drop of milky-white goo had been expelled from her body. In the end, it looked like a scene out of "Alien" with my room looking like a giant hatchery, although there was only one egg. I did not know what she had planned, but as far as I knew, I no longer had any say in the matter. I was defeated and Shannon was free to do what she pleased with me.

Shannon stared at the milky-white sack in the middle of the slime-covered room and breathed in the smell of the latex that it gave off. She felt a sense of accomplishment for her mission. She gotten it done much faster than her "sister", Krystal had and she hadn't left any margin for feelings to develop for him. She was the best there was next to her master and soon, she would be commanding her very own Synthetic slave. She had outdone Krystal by converting her target without having to wrap her lips around that vile human flesh. She had barely gotten the taste of him out of her mouth from when she regurgitated him earlier, so she was not sorry that she would never taste him again.

Shannon was ahead of schedule at the moment – her master was not scheduled to check on her for another few hours, so she decided to make the best of it and perfect her slave for when he hatched. Kneeling down on the slimy floor, she plunged both of her hands inside of the sack and began to sculpt. She knew that Rio could no longer feel her, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. She could care less on what happened to the human version. Right now, she wanted to perfect her minion while there was still time.

Like some kind of sick artist, Shannon inserted and removed her paws at various points in the liquid, molding her slave to her perfection. It left no impression in the outer skin, but on the inside, strange and unusual things were happening to Rio's body.

Shannon had to work fast. The shell was starting to crystallize. If she didn't perfect it now, it would all be undone when it finally did. Either she had to set a new form in the chamber before it hardened or it would be undone and take on a default form that she was rather unimpressed with.

Just in the nick of time, she pulled her hands from the chamber and allowed it to finish hardening. It wasn't going to harden like an egg would. Instead, it was just going to get just thick and viscous enough that she could no longer manipulate it. All it needed now was time.

Shannon got up and let the sack sit in the mess of the room so that it could soak up all of the nutrients from the latex slime surrounding it. She then left the room and made her way back out to the kitchen to find a bite to eat. She had "forced" Rio to buy far more than she needed because she knew that he would be converted soon after they had gotten back to the cabin. She may be evil, but even _she_ wouldn't let her own slave go hungry. Besides, that rubber cement looked rather tasty.

As she sat on the chair, painting her mouth with rubber cement like butter on toast, Shannon watched the news on an incident that had happened in New York. According to the reporter, millions of gallons of treated water at a local waste treatment facility had been reportedly tainted by an "unknown" chemical. She gave a small chuckle of satisfaction when she heard that the water had been dumped into the ocean before it could be treated. The oceans were now laced with the chemical, but experts were saying that apart from the immediate area, the oceans would not carry the chemical all over the world, although the cleanup project was going to be enormous.

Shannon basked in a moment of personal victory. It had been her fellow Synthetic, Krystal and her slave, Vexx that had tainted the water supply. Those pathetic humans had no idea what that "chemical" was REALLY going to do. It was a concoction of her master that was going to be used to turn humans worldwide into Synthetics. It was not created to infect the local wildlife, which the humans would find out too late, but the humans were all going to feel its power soon enough. She just needed to wait for Rio to hatch and then they could proceed with their plan.

Shannon turned of the TV and laughed darkly to herself. Life was good and it was only going to get better in time.

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she heard was a familiar voice speaking in her ear, prompting her to wake up.

"It's time to awake, Shannon. I've come to check on your status."

Shannon promptly opened her eyes. Standing in the middle of the room, towering over her was the figure of her master and fellow Synthetic, Darkheart the Shadow Lugia. Darkheart normally took the form of a great bird of destiny, but to fit into smaller spaces, he had adapted a slightly different form. His rubbery skin was mostly a deep, shadowy-violet except for parts on his torso, back plates, tail spikes and dagger-shaped eye masks. Those parts were a pale, lavender color.

Darkheart stood on two long, digitigrade legs with three-taloned feet on the ends. He had a long, thick, flexible tail with two lavender-colored spikes on the end. And on his back were ten similar-colored rectangular plates that he could use while in the air to adjust his speed. On his torso was a tall, V-shaped lavender-colored mark that was slightly rounder in his true form. He also sported a pair of lean, slim arms with five slim, slender, nail-less fingers on them. They were the part of him that he liked the less, as they reminded him of the scum he was trying to "purify", but they still had their uses. And on his shoulders was a pair of large, broad, flat, flipper-like wings with five distinct "fingers" similar to a human hand. In his real form, they still functioned to serve as his wings, but in this form, they gave him a slightly more draconic look to him.

Darkheart's skull was pointed at the top and he had a curved beak with two pointed fangs sticking out of the top of it with two more on his lower jaw. And under his masks were a pair of red-lined, silver eyes that radiated his malevolence to all those around him.

The Shadow Lugia Balloon looked down at the second of his three "daughters" with an impressed look. "You've clearly outdone yourself, Shannon. The way you initiated the human's conversion is very ingenious. I would have never thought of that.

Shannon blushed and smiled wickedly. "I guess that's one of the benefits of being a skunk. I can just spray whoever I want if they get in my way."

"Impressive. But where did you get all that fluid? That was far more liquid than I used to create you and your sisters."

Shannon went on to explain how she had filled her entire body with water and then used her natural fluids to turn it into liquid latex.

"I see. Again, you have my gratitude on your originality. But..." He turned to look in the direction of Rio's room. "The form you have given him is a little... much for one made of rubber. So I took the honor of converting him to a more... durable material."

Shannon looked at him. "What did you make him out of?"

Darkheart glanced at Shannon and chuckled once. "Plastic."

Now it was _Shannon_ that was impressed. She had no idea that he could do that. "Did you do it to anyone else?"

Darkheart shrugged. "I tested it out on Seryn before I came here. She still has her uses as a Synthetic before I dismiss her."

Shannon smiled. "Yeah, I never really liked her. Good riddance, I say."

Darkheart made to speak to Shannon, but suddenly, he looked back in the direction of Rio's room. "Young Rio stirs. Let us witness his rebirth. Fetch him for me."

Shannon nodded and got to her feet. Hustling over to Rio's room, she saw that the birth sac was already stirring. She was amazed at the speed in which it had developed, but she severed it from the floor nonetheless and carried it back to the living room.

The two of them stared at the milky-white sphere as it began to stir and tremble. Rio Caster was about to be reborn and Shannon was all but ecstatic.

I awoke somewhere in the dark. I could not remember who I was or where I had come from. I could not remember happiness nor sorrow nor pleasure. My mind was completely blank except for the thoughts given to me by my master. I existed to serve her as Slave and only she and her superior could command me.

I tried to break free of my surroundings, but I was immediately met with resistance. Something was preventing me from escaping, but I would not let that stand in my way. I kicked out with my feet and pushed out with my arms to weaken the walls of the chamber. Soon enough, I felt the chamber tear and fresh, clean oxygen entered my lungs. I tumbled out of my birth chamber in front of two figures in the room. I opened my eyes and looked around, my mind still as blank as ever. There was a figure that looked like a massive humanoid pink skunk – my master and superior. There was also a second, more intimidating figure standing next to me – my master's master. I was at the lowest point in the superior food chain and I would not forget it.

"Welcome to your new life..." said the shadowy-violet figure. "...Ranshiin."

I took in the power of the name and basked in its meaning. It was my new name and I answered to no other. From now on, I answered to "Ranshiin" and no other could command me to respond to any other.

(Author's Note: Isn't a coincidence that Darkheart, Vexx and Ranshiin are all together for the first time since Dreams Come True 4 and 5?)

"Ranshiin... that's... my name..." I said in awe. "Yes... that's who I am."

I looked at myself to take in the body that came with that name of power. My body was made of the finest plastic material that was out in the world. It was much richer, thicker and more durable than my masters' own latex bodies. I also wore a pair of black three-digit gauntlets over my talons that seemed to be meld together with the rest of my body, although it looked like I was wearing them separately. Around these gauntlets were a pair of golden-colored bands with red-colored plastic gems that looked like I was wearing bracelets that kept my gauntlets "in place".

Apart from my gauntlets, I also had on an impressive black vest over my torso that might have looked like leather to the untrained eye. There were also a number of black straps around my thighs that were connected to my vest, along with a couple of black tails off of the bottom of it.

The rest of my body was a rich, bright white except for the three black talons on each of my feet and a jagged black stripe running from my forehead down to the tip of my long and thick tail. Looking in the reflection of my master's body, I could see my face, although it was a little distorted from her rubbery skin. It looked slightly draconic with a pair of wing-shaped "ears" atop my head. My eyes were a deep, sapphire blue, but they weren't the kind of eyes that were caring and considerate. They were instead full of fierceness and blank determination. Since my mind was almost always under my master's control, there was little emotion behind them. And to top it off, I had a long, slender mane of glossy, pale-yellow hair that ended in a long ponytail in the back. And although you couldn't see it, there was a small plastic stopper buried underneath my mane, giving me the final touch to mimic a plastic animal.

But the best part about me was my massive, black, "feathery" wings. It looked like I had the wings of a fallen angel, although my "feathers" were just plastic in a feathery arrangement. But they still looked impressive nonetheless. To top it all off, I had a pair of golden bands near the bases of them by the wing joints.

In all, I reminded myself of a fallen angel in dragon form. I was the figure of evil, but not as dark or as intimidating as Darkheart.

Darkheart turned to me and looked down over my small form. "He's small, but he'll grow into his new form in time. But for now, let us proceed to the base and confiscate the Omega III."

I was about to follow Darkheart out of the cabin when we both noticed that Shannon was not proceeding.

"Is there something wrong, Master?" I said calmly.

Shannon sighed and looked at Darkheart. "Sir, you said when I came through with my mission that..." She took a deep breath. "...you would change me back."

Darkheart looked his creation up and down for a while, weighing up his options. He seemed to be recalling this "promise" he had made to her.

Finally, he nodded and said, "I remember that very well. Yes, you may have your old form back."

Darkheart spread his wings and raised his arm to place it on Shannon's forehead. She was immediately surrounded by a dark aura that immediately engulfed her. It looked like she had been swallowed by a black vortex before she suddenly came back into focus. The main difference was that she had gone from rose-pink to jet-black and her pale-pink parts had changed into pure white. Her hair was still the same length, but it was a slightly richer black than the rest of her body. In all, she looked exactly like a skunk should look, Synthetic or otherwise.

Shannon looked over herself and smiled. "Thank you, Lord Darkheart. I appreciate this."

Darkheart folded his wings again and put a hand on Shannon's shoulder. "Remember, you _earned_ your old form back. You may be the most loyal of my servants, but remember what I can do to you if you betray you."

Shannon's face suddenly went blank. "Yes, sir. I will not disobey you."

Darkheart nodded and turned back to leaving the cabin with me and Shannon following close after him.

"This place... I've... I've seen this place before..." I stood in front of a door half-hidden by a snow bank in the middle of nowhere.

"Yes, Ranshiin," said Darkheart. "This used to be your human job. And you will help us achieve our goal by allowing us in."

I looked at Shannon in confusion, but she nodded and my blank mind was filled with knowledge that I had never known before. It was like I had known this information back in a previous life, but I could not remember. But that was beside the point. I lived to serve my masters and nothing else.

I was still a little small to reach the door, so I had to flap my wings to get level with the keypad. I then inputted a code that I was getting from nowhere. Surprising enough, it beeped and slid open. Without a word, the three of us entered the bunker one after another.

When we got into the main complex, I walked around the room, looking around. I couldn't place it, but I was starting to have flashbacks about this place. But try as I might, I could not see the images my mind was trying to project. It was like I was being forced to forget what I was trying to remember. I finally got a grip on reality and went back to obeying my masters.

"Ranshiin!" called Darkheart. "Come over here. I need your knowledge of how to program this thing!"

I cantered over and climbed up on the console. In a former life, I knew exactly how this mechanism worked, but right now, I was living off of pure instinct.

"Okay," I said, bringing up a map on the main screen. "In order to activate the satellite, we need the main key and access codes from the Head of Security. The key should be in that vault behind us." I indicated the eye-shaped stone door behind us.

Darkheart turned to Shannon and nodded. The two of them traded places and Darkheart went over to the vault. Without even bothering with the lock, Darkheart's eyes flashed bright red and the keypads were instantly fried. The eye opened up and revealed a glass shelf with a giant orange disk and two key cards. Taking them casually, he carried them over to the console and gave them to me.

"Thanks, sir." I took the large key and inserted it into a drive I then took the cards and placed them in slots on each side of the drive. "We need to log on at the same time. Master, will you help me with this?"

But Shannon was looking around nervously. "Darkheart, have you noticed that there is nobody here whatsoever?"

Darkheart simply smiled and shook his head. "I have already dealt with the other employees. I drew them out of here while you and Ranshiin were busy and then sealed them out. By the time they reach town on their own, it will be too late. We will be long gone and the satellite will be ours."

Shannon let out a sigh. "That's a relief. I thought we would have been spotted by now."

Darkheart grinned and patted Shannon on the back. "Have I failed any of you yet?" It wasn't really a question to be answered, so none of us did.

Shannon went over to the other slot where I had inserted the second card key. There was a button on the console that she needed to press along with us.

"On my count," I said, getting ready to press my own. "Three... two... one... go!"

Once the two of us pressed the button, the satellite was activated and it showed its current position in space – just over Russia.

"It will take some time to charge up to fire, but we should be able to fire a warning shot in just a few hours."

Darkheart nodded. "Not too bad, Ranshiin. A warning shot will surely get the humans' attention. Set its course for the Arctic." I did so and the satellite was on its way there as we spoke. "Prepare to fire it as soon as it reaches its mark. We'll be long gone by then."

I wanted to ask why, but Shannon beat me to the punch. "Where are we going, sir?"

Darkheart chuckled and spread his wings threateningly. "That's for me to know and for you two to find out. We just need to take the key and leave here as soon as possible."

I finished programming the Omega III to fire over the Arctic Circle and ejected the keycards and the main key. Handing them to Darkheart, he patted me gently on the head and pressed them into his torso. Like sticking fruit in gelatin, the keys were inserted into him and hung in the middle of his body, suspended inside of him for the time being.

"This will do. But to keep others in the dark, I think I'll hide them a little better."

His eyes glowed bright red again and like Shannon, he was engulfed by a black aura. But when it dissolved, there was a distinct difference between him and Shannon.

Instead of changing color, Darkheart's body had "solidified" in a way so that he now looked as flesh-and-blood as a real human. I somehow knew that while he may have looked real on the outside, on this inside, his flesh was still latex-based. Neither of us said anything as Darkheart beckoned for us to come closer to him. The two of us pressed up against his fleshy body and he spread his wings wide before draping them over us. They got significantly bigger and enveloped us like a shroud. I had a distinct feeling of being deflated internally and all of a sudden, the three of us vanished. When we reappeared, we separated and went to go get ready for Darkheart's ultimatum. It was only a matter of time before the Synthetics ruled all of humanity. And I was going to be there when it happened.

Back in Minnesota, a lone figure was sitting on the step of Plushtopia – the place where her master had been sold to a human that had given his life to create her. The store had long since closed up after a "magical mishap" with its owner. She was full of sadness and grief. Darkheart had not only injected her with an untested liquid to turn her from rubber to plastic, but soon after, he had dismissed her and cut his mental connection with her.

She could not understand why he had abandoned her; she hadn't even gotten a chance to go on her own mission to help out. It didn't make any sense why he had created her without giving her her own mission. He had given Krystal and Shannon ample opportunity to help him out, but he had mutilated her and then had cast her aside without a single care in the world. It wasn't fair!

As she sat there, an aged, decrepit old man came out of the store and stood next to her. "I understand your pain, Seryn," he told her.

She looked up at him. "You do?"

"I do. When I sold Darkheart and learned about what he did to that poor teenager, I had no choice but to close up shop. I lost everything I had and now, I'm living on my own to help rebuild my life. Darkheart took my life from me the same way he took Alex's and yours. So as a friend, I want to help you get back at him."

Seryn sniffed and looked away. "What can I do? I'm just a balloon turned plastic animal. I'm no good for anything anymore."

Aridos slowly sat down next to Seryn and pulled one of her wings over him like a blanket. "You can do more than you think. You may not know this, but Darkheart's creators are on their way to help out. While they are coming, you can help out by—" And he told her. Seryn listened very intently. Her sorrow and grief was soon forgotten as he told her exactly how he could fix this mess. Pretty soon, she was filled with new hope and determination. She was going to get back at Darkheart for abandoning her like this and soon, it was all going to come together.

**To be continued...**

Coming soon from shadowlugia249:

"Anthro Anthology – Tails" – A Tails/Kitsune TF

"Latex Lore Chapter 4: Plastic Payback" – Seryn's Mission

"Latex Lore Final Chapter: Rubber Revolution" – The Final Showdown

"Anthro Anthology Revolution – The Novel" – An original TF story


	4. Chapter 4: Plastic Payback

**Latex Lore Chapter 4: Plastic Payback**

_By shadowlugia249_

Author's Note: I have the rest of the story all planned out, I just need to catch up with it. By now, you've probably noticed a few similarities with my story and with movies you've probably seen. But that's what's keeping this series alive, so please play along with it. I originally planned to have just four stories in the series, but something came up and now there's five. Keep reading for the rest of the story! Enjoy!

It all started with an ultimatum...

I was walking around my home two of Willmar, Minnesota, minding my own business when I suddenly noticed the power surging. Every electronic in the city was fluctuating and was on the verge of blacking out when it all came back online. But this time, there was a distinct difference. The electronic billboards and TV screens in the city had all changed to show the same image.

I had never seen such a strange creature in my whole life like the one that was on the display on every TV screen in the city. It looked humanoid, but there was something distinctly different. It looked like its skin was made of some kind of glossy, rubbery, shadowy-violet material. If I had to place a name, I guess I would call it a "balloon animal". It stood on two digitigrade three-clawed feet and was roughly seven feet tall. It was completely nude, but I did not see anything to suggest that was a problem for it.

On its chest was a pale, lavender-colored mark with a six-pack of abs molded into it. It also had a long, flexible tail with a pair of lavender spikes on the end. on its back was a set of ten lavender-colored "plates", the purpose of which I was unfamiliar with. It also had a pair of regular human arms, but I did not see any fingernails on its slim, slender fingers. Also, it had a set of strange, broad, flipper-like wings on its shoulder with five "fingers" on them that kind of reminded me of a dragon.

Finally, its head was pointed at the top and had a sharp, curved beak with two visible fangs on the top part of it. And under a pair of dagger-shaped lavender-colored flashes that reminded me of a mask, it had glowing piercing-red eyes with silver pupils.

Along the bottom of the screens was a marquee that read: "The Rubber Revolution – Humanity's last chance for redemption. You will join the revolution or you will be DESTROYED!!!"

Now that everyone was looking up at the creature, it seemed to know that it had gotten our attention. It began to speak in a dark, malevolent voice.

"Citizens of Earth, my name is Darkheart the Shadow Lugia. I am sending you this message to begin my reign as overlord of this world. I am building my power to conquer this world. You may or may not have noticed this, but the oceans of your world are full of a highly potent chemical that, when consumed, will turn the entire population into Synthetics like me. I possess the power to distribute this chemical worldwide, mutating the entire human race into my loyal servants. Behold!" The screen changed to show a shot of a satellite in space. It looked like a giant mirror with a large crystal cannon attached to the center of it. "This is my secret weapon – the Omega III. Using it, I will vaporize the world's oceans and send my chemical into the air. Once inhaled, the world will be transformed into Synthetics such as myself." The screen then changed back to the creature who called himself "Darkheart". "If you don't believe me, allow me to show you that I mean business and that resistance is futile. Fire the laser!"

The screen changed to show a live feed of the satellite over the north Arctic. Its crystal cannon was beginning to charge up energy, filling it with unbelievable power. Then when it was at full strength, it let all of the energy out of it.

I didn't need the screens to show what was going on up there. All I had to do was look up at the sky to see a beam of faint blue energy soaring overhead towards the north. It seemed that it was all true. That cannon had just fired through space towards the arctic.

When it disappeared, there was a minute's pause and then a distinct tremor in the ground. It felt like an earthquake, but not a very big one. It was still noticeable for the people of Minnesota, who had never felt an earthquake in their life.

It was all over in a minute, but when I looked back at the screen, it looked like the Arctic had just been vaporized. A thick, murky fog now hung over the Arctic, signaling that the attack had been a success. Then the screen changed to show a timer counting down from 24 hours. It was at 23:58:36. It seemed to be a countdown to the end of the human race.

It had been over six hours since that cannon had fired and every TV station except for the main news channels were blocked by the timer that had appeared around the world. The news channels that weren't blocked were discussing Darkheart's ultimatum. It was showing pictures of the satellite known as Omega III and pictures of Congress discussing the inevitable.

But believe it or not, the world was not taking this threat seriously. It was commonly discussed that no weapon created by man could vaporize the world's oceans enough to consider it a threat. Another point made was that no chemical could pollute all of the oceans at once and carry just one disease worldwide. And despite Darkheart's ultimatum, the world was unconvinced that the threat was even authentic. No one felt that a walking, talking balloon – which was an impossibility in its own – could mastermind the conquest of the entire world.

I did not know why they were not taking this seriously, but I felt that the threat was really there. This reminded me of 9/11 but on a global scale. This was some kind of super-terrorist that was attempting to hold the entire world hostage. And if people didn't take this seriously, if Darkheart was as smart as he appeared, the world was in a _lot_ of trouble.

I just hoped that they were right and that this was all a hoax...

Back up at the Omega III Space Station, Darkheart was in a fit. He could not believe that the world was not taking his threat seriously. He had received numerous e-mails calling him a "blowhard" and that he was "full of hot air". Of course to a balloon, this was the ultimate insult. Being full of hot air to a balloon meant that he could just drift away into the atmosphere and pop. And being called a "blowhard" wasn't any more pleasant to deal with.

"Those humans have no idea who they're dealing with!" he said, slamming his fist on the control console in frustration. "I've come too far to have them just start calling me names and doubting my power."

From the corner of the room, another Balloonie and loyal servant, Shannon the Synthetic Skunk came up to comfort her master. "You shouldn't let it get to you, my lord. Let the humans doubt you. It will be all the sweeter when their skin turns to rubber and their flesh turns to gas and they realize they should never have doubted you in the first place."

Darkheart took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, thinking about what Shannon had said. Finally, he chuckled to himself and turned to wrap his arms around her.

"You're right, my dear. They'll pay for their ignorance in the end when _they_ are the ones full of hot air! Let them try and prolong the inevitable. In just under 18 hours, the world will be at my control."

The two of them rubbed up against each other, their bodies making squeaky music together as master and slave showed their affection for each other.

Meanwhile, in the cannon control room, another pair of Synthetics, a blue anthro fox and a black-and-red dragon known as Krystal and Vexx were looking at the timer until the cannon fired with apprehension. Krystal had gotten where she was by going against her will and submitting herself to Darkheart. If it hadn't been for him, her one true love – the human that became Vexx – would still be his old human self and they would be living on the surface as boyfriend and girlfriend. And although Vexx had since learned to deal with his new form, Krystal still felt guilty for taking his life away from him against his will.

Vexx saw his love mulling over her thoughts and wrapped a wing around her shoulder. "You worry too much, Kryst. In my opinion, Darkheart did the right thing by forcing you to turn me into a Synthetic. Life as a Balloon Dragon isn't so bad."

Krystal sighed and looked at her lover. "This still isn't right. After what he made me do to you, he continued his rampage and mutated poor Seryn. I can't help but wonder what happened to her and if she's planning to come back to us."

Vexx sighed and used a claw to get her to look at him in the eyes. "I do not like Darkheart's plan, either. But if there was a way to give Seryn more time to rise against him, I would take it."

Krystal frowned and looked away from him. "That won't matter. In 18 hours, the entire world will become Synthetics... unless..." She suddenly had a thought. "Maybe we can limit how much damage is done and give Seryn more time to think." Krystal suddenly went into a zone, typing away at the cannon controls to realign the coordinates. "We're going to pay dearly for this, Vexx... but it's the only chance we have to help Seryn."

Vexx sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, love. Darkheart is _not_ going to be happy when he finds out what you're doing."

Saturday: 6:33 PM – 17:26:48 until cannon fires

I don't think I really introduced myself. Darkheart's ultimatum kind of threw me off my game. My name is Mark Ramos and at the moment, I was living by myself and am now awaiting the destruction of the human race. Nice way to start out a story, eh? I didn't think so.

But even though my name is Mark, I've always been called "Mana" ever since I was a baby. (Author's Note?!?!?!?!) I don't know where the name came from, but I heard that I was always a magical kind of person, so as a nickname, everyone calls me "Mana". It's a strange nickname, but it doesn't seem to bother me at all. I kind of like it.

But even though I was nicknamed after magic, I feel that there's only one true magic in this world – the magic of Flammie. What am I talking about? Well, it just so happens that I have played every single video game in the "World of Mana" series. From Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore and Seiken Densetsu 3 (computer ROM) for the SNES to Legend of Mana for the PSOne to Sword of Mana for the GameBoy Advance to Children of Mana for the Nintendo DS and finally probably the best game in the whole series: Dawn of Mana for the Playstation 2.

Getting back to Flammie, ever since he debuted in the first game, Secret of Mana, I have always had a secret fondness for him. And although he didn't even show up in Legend of Mana, Secret of Evermore and Sword of Mana, I still hold true to his existence and pray that he will continue to appear in future World of Mana games.

Normally, the early games in the series didn't have such wonderful shots of Flammie in great detail. And the only decent shot I got of him in Children of Mana was when I first summoned Flammie and watched the brief cutscene. But when Flammie appeared in Dawn of Mana and ended up saving my hash after the Wyvern battle, I've gained a new respect for him. The detail and dimensions of Flammie in that game are just unbelievable! I've never seen Flammie in such fine detail in my life.

I had been lucky to see Flammie when he was carrying Keldric off of the mountain, but when I saw him take on the Lorimarian army with that energy blast that I call "Flammie Breath", I could hardly believe his courage and power in taking on even the greatest of foes. So you could only imagine the pride I felt when Keldy summoned him to take him to the Great Tree at the end of the game. Seeing him moving through the air and blasting enemies out of the sky like that made me feel honored to admire such a wonderful creature.

But for every great creature, there is normally a dark side to it. Although it only appeared once, Flammie's dark counterpart, the Mana Beast has long since scarred his reputation. I faced the Mana Beast at the end of Secret of Mana and took him on three-on-one and have always wondered if that was the last I would see of him. It turns out that the Mana Beast was created when a Flammie was infected with the Echoes of the Great Tree, but it didn't make beating on him any more bearable to do.

But with technology nowadays, I can hope to see Flammie in many more games in as much detail as the breakthrough events in Dawn of Mana. It just won't be anytime soon; the next game, Heroes of Mana, is going to be a Real-Time-Strategy game for the Nintendo DS. I wasn't expecting Flammie to make that big of an impression in a game like that.

(Author's Note: Notice that I am not using a name to classify Flammie. That's because to Mark, the only name it has is "Flammie". All of the games always call it by the name "Flammie". I just gave it a name it could use. Also, to him, Flammie is male...)

Even though I didn't expect Flammies to come to life, I could always imagine it in my head and dream about it at night. But my beliefs were completely thrown for a loop when I heard my doorbell ring that fateful night.

Immediately, that sent up a red flag. As far as I knew, my apartment didn't _have_ a doorbell. I had looked up and down for one but had never found it. So everyone who came by had to revert to knocking at my door. A doorbell in my apartment meant that something was not the way it should be.

Nevertheless, I went to go answer the door. But when I got there, there was no one there. It sounded either a prank or a play on my imagination. I could have sworn that I had heard a doorbell ring in _this_ apartment.

However, when I looked down, I spotted a small, plastic bag on the floor. It was unmarked, so I had no idea where it had come from, but since there was no one in the immediate area, I decided to claim it. I picked it up and carried it into my living room.

The bag contained a medium-sized plastic package with the words "Inflate-a-Flammie" painted on the outside of it. (Author's Note: Ring any bells?) It looked like it was a child's inflatable plastic toy with an old-fashioned picture of a white Flammie on it. This was another red flag since I had never seen Flammie merchandise of any kind whatsoever ever since it debuted in Secret of Mana. As to what it was doing on the doorstep of a Flammie fanatic, I had no explanation. But believe it or not, I did not dwell on the fact that it had come to me. I just grabbed a scissors and cut the package open.

The item that slid out looked like a deflated beach ball of sorts. I could see that it was mostly pure-white and there was a little orange and blue thrown into it. It sure mimicked the colors of a Flammie, but if I was going to be sure, I had to inflate it. I ran my hand around it, looking for some kind of port to inflate it with and soon found one near a crop of goldenrod-yellow plastic that I assumed was its mane. Given the proximity to this part, I assumed it was on the back of its neck, so I popped it open and began to blow into it.

There wasn't even close to enough plastic to make a full-sized Flammie, but there was enough to make a small pet-sized version. I blew into it, filling out its body with my breath and giving it form. It was filling out rather quickly for the small amount of air I had already put into it. Its paws pushed out and took form and I could see its talons growing out as well. Not only that, but its wings were inflating – something I had never seen in an inflatable animal before. Normally, I saw plastic animals with wings only have thin, flat pieces of plastic that were supposed to pass off as their wings, but each of its four wings were filling out, giving it shape and definition.

As it reached its full size, I could feel it starting to resist my breaths. That was significant since I had only given it about a dozen good blows for it to reach this size. With one final push, I gave it one more blow... and spit it out onto the floor.

What the heck was that?! I couldn't explain it, but it had felt that with that last breath, it had suddenly grown furry, tickling my lips and startling me enough to spit it out. I stared at the Inflate-a-Flammie for a moment before bending down to pick it up.

This time, I did not drop it, but it still startled me. It was like it had grown a long coat of sleek, glossy, plastic fur all over its body. It was like I was holding a real animal, but the fur was distinctly plastic. Weird. But as I held it and some of the air escaped it, the "fur" receded back into it. I didn't want it to go, so I gave it one more breath, restoring its glossy feel before I plugged the stopper and held it up to face me.

Sure enough, it was Flammie in every dimension and detail. It was bear-like in appearance and had a coat of thick, glossy, pure-white plastic fur. It four paws were padded and it had a set of three pointed, brown talons on its forepaws with a fourth "dewclaw" like a human thumb – something the original Flammie did not have. Its back paws had only three digits and talons, though – something that _did_ match the original one. From under its throat all the way down its belly and to the end of its thick tail was a series of rugged, slightly-tougher orange plates like a kind of armor.

I turned it over and looked at its wings. Like its body, they were distinct in feel and texture. But these felt like they were made out of real yet plastic feathers. The likeness and detail of it was unmatched in the universe.

The rest of it was just amazing in terms of facial matches. I recognized those kind, round, baby-blue eyes anywhere. And while the early versions of Flammie had had pupils, this version simply looked like there were two orbs in its head instead of eyes. It looked like they were two small staring globes in its head and not eyes in any way. But it didn't scare me. It actually made me feel safer that I was looking at those orbs instead of regular irises. This way, there was nothing to disguise or conceal it kindness and beauty from the world and that no one could mistake it for an enemy.

Finally, I could relate the rest of the Inflate-a-Flammie to the real thing. It had a short, curved muzzle with two pointed, pearl-white, plastic fangs sticking out of the sides of the roof of its mouth. And I recognized those deer-like ears and that untidy crop of goldenrod-yellow hair anywhere. It was Flammie in every way possible despite being made of plastic.

The whole thing was roughly four feet from head to tail – a distinct size difference between the 40-foot-long real Flammie. It was about a 1/10th scale in terms of size, but its weight could be measured in feathers. I actually tossed it up in the air and it drifted down to the ground without flipping over like most plastic animals did.

I smiled at the Flammie. It was rather neat to have as a comfort object. Despite being made of plastic, it was actually quite cuddly. But when I went to go pick it up, I spotted something written on its back that I had not noticed before. It was tough to make out what it was through its glossy fur, but I could part its fur and make out three words tattooed into its spine.

The words were written in a language I had never seen before, but it was still in letters that I recognized. I read them out loud just out of curiosity, "Unubo! Calo! Rhoukxo!"

The instant I said these words, I felt the life get sucked out of my body and into the toy. It was like I had been electrocuted without the electricity and my body simply became limp. I felt a shortness of breath and all the feeling was sucked out of my legs. I became severely lightheaded and dropped to the floor with a distinct _thump!_ I was unconscious in seconds.

(Author's Note: What Mana had just said were the words, "Awake! Live Breathe!" Just so you know.)

Saturday: 5:59 AM – 6:00:30 until cannon fires

Back at the Omega III Space Station, which had now been named the "Rubber Revolution" by Darkheart himself in honor of his master plan, Krystal and Vexx were putting together their last-minute plan to buy Seryn more time on the surface. After thinking about it all night, they realized that they would have to sacrifice some humans' lives in order to delay the inevitable, but their lives were just collateral when compared to the billions of other lives they were hoping to save. Darkheart was going to be in a _very_ bad mood when he found out what they had done, but they hoped that their sacrifice would be worth it to give Seryn more time to gather together a resistance to fight him.

Vexx was keeping an eye on the power meter. It was nearing 100, but it would be reset to zero once they pulled this off. He was also looking out for Darkheart on the monitors. If he came this way now, it was all over.

"So far, so good! The way we're going, we'll really throw a wrench in his operation!"

Krystal nodded and locked in the coordinates. She had a feeling that she knew where Seryn was, so she aimed right for it. She didn't want Seryn to think that they were attacking her, but this was the only way she could build up ample resistance in time.

"This is it! Either this buys her enough time or the human race is done for. Ready..."

"Aim..." Vexx said, crossing his claws.

"Fire!"

On the outside of the space station, the appearance of the Rubber Revolution firing would have looked like a star shining from the cannon. The crystal mirrors lining the firing point were filled with energy as the cannon sent a solid beam of blue microwave energy straight at the target. The resulting impact would not be as bad as it would have been if it had been fully charged, but it was going to do some damage to a wide area before this was all over and done with.

The instant it hit its target, the waters throughout the area instantly vaporized, filling the air with the chemical that Krystal had laced the world's water supply with only weeks earlier. When the humans in that area breathed it in, they were all going to become rubber Synthetics. Krystal and Vexx knew that it could have been worse if they had been aiming straight at the oceans, so that was an accomplishment in its own. Plus, the humans were going to realize that Darkheart meant what he had said in his ultimatum, increasing the government resistance and putting together a plan to overthrow him. But since only a Synthetic could destroy a Synthetic, their victory was limited. The best thing they could do was destroy the space station that they were hiding out on. Krystal and Vexx were willing to give their lives to ensure that the rest of the human race was saved. That part would never be forgotten. They just wished that they could have resorted to alternate means of saving the world.

Sunday: 10:25 AM – 4:25:42 after impact

Back in the "abandoned" shop of Plushtopia, Karmen Aridos had just finished developing a vaccine for Darkheart's Latex Lore chemical. He had battened down every window and ventilation shaft in his shop when he had been informed that the Rubber Revolution would be firing early so he would not inhale any of the noxious mist that now hung over a majority of the state. He just felt lucky that the blast had not been strong enough to hit the Great Lakes or the nation, including Canada would have been in serious trouble. And since he had finally finished his vaccine, he could administer it into the world's oceans to counteract Darkheart's "cure" And as a precaution, he had injected himself with a sample so that he would not be affected by the tainted mist that now hung in the air.

He had also injected Seryn with a test version of the vaccine to administer to the one she had chosen as her "partner". By now, she should be recovering from the suspension spell he had put on her to keep her identity a secret and she could begin her mission of converting her partner. But they both knew better than rush things. After the cannon had fired, the timer had been reset to four days or 96 hours to reach full capacity again, so Seryn had to work quickly to recruit Mana and find their way to the space station. But she needed to pace herself or Mana would get wary of her and abandon her before she could complete her mission.

All of this thinking made Aridos' head hurt. He could not believe how unstable the world had become in such a short time. By this time, he wished he had destroyed Darkheart when he had had the chance instead of selling him and plunging the world into total chaos. Alas, some things could not be helped. It was up to Seryn and the others to fix things and there was little he could do to help.

Sunday: 10:23 – 91:36:21 until cannon fires

I woke up feeling very strange. I felt as if all of my strength had been stolen from me, leaving me very vulnerable. I don't know what had happened last night, but it had taken a lot out of me. Was it those words I had spoken from Flammie's back? I couldn't be sure. I just felt as if I had had the life sucked out of me and I felt even worse that I had ever felt before.

I also felt a strange wet feeling stroking my cheek. I was confused as to why an animal was in my apartment, but when I finally had the sense to look at it, I tried to yell, but I was too weak to move.

The plastic Inflate-a-Flammie was standing next to me, stroking my face with a small, rubbery tongue. It had come to life! It was moving around on its own, but I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do was lie here and let it do its thing.

The moment it saw I was awake, the toy let out a little purr and placed its paw on my forehead. "You gave me quite a scare there. Are you all right?"

Okay, _now_ it was talking! And I knew for a fact that not even the _real_ Flammie spoke even a word! I desperately tried to move, but I was still too weak to budge.

But the Flammie simply placed a talon on my lips and whispered, "Shh... I'm not going to harm you. I'm going to take care of you until you can get back on your feet."

The voice sounded oddly feminine. I knew that in the early years, Flammie was a female, but just recently, it had been classified as a male. I had to understand this, so I forced myself to speak.

"Who... are you?"

Flammie smiled and started stroking my forehead with its paw. "My name is Seryn. I am a Synthetic and I'm going to take care of you."

This string of words seemed to confirm that it was female. But the fact that a living, breathing toy was taking care of its owner was still foreign to me.

"I... can't... move... Seryn..."

"Seryn" purred a little and put her muzzle close to my ear, whispering, "Hold still. I can help with that."

She then climbed on top of me and opened her mouth. I immediately recoiled when I realized that it was going to use its "Flammie Breath" on me. But she did no such thing. Instead of a blast of violet energy like in the game, all that came out was a small, gentle stream of clear-blue flames. The unusual fire surrounded me like a net, but I didn't feel any heat coming from them. On the contrary, I felt pure comfort radiating from them.

Once I was fully surrounded, the flames seemed to close in on me, seeping through my clothes and skin and into my body. I could not understand how this was possible, but I could feel fresh energy reentering my body. My muscles were being soothed and massaged and I felt fresh energy enter my frame. I soon had enough energy to finally sit up on my own with Seryn hopping up on the couch.

"Feel better?" she said sweetly, looking at me with those baby-blue orbs.

I stretched a little and got the kinks out of my muscles before answering. "I feel great! Thank you, Seryn."

The toy smiled and leaped onto my chest, pinning me back on the ground as she "attacked" me with that tongue of hers.

"Okay, okay! I'm up! I'm glad to see you, too! Now can you get off of me?!"

If toys could blush, Seryn did a pretty good job of doing it. She climbed off of me and sat back on her hind legs, grinning at me.

I finally got to my feet and looked down at her. I frowned at her petite frame. "No offense, Seryn, but..." I didn't know how to put it. "I was expecting you to be a bit... bigger."

Seryn looked over herself, but not like she was offended. "Isn't this good enough? I can fix it."

I watched as she opened her mouth and began to take deep breaths like I had when I had inflated her. Sure enough, she began to inflate herself to a slightly bigger frame. She went from four feet tall minus a foot of tail to about six feet tall with two feet of tail in under a minute. She now stood as high as I did and was about as well-built as bear. I stared at her as the two of us stood eye to orbs.

"Wow..." I was at a loss for words. I was shocked as to how she had done that. On a hunch, I wanted to know how she felt up-close. I held my arms out and said, "May I?"

She nodded and did likewise, pulling me close to her and stroking my back like a mother caressing a child. I leaned my head against her chest and listened to the slow, steady rhythm of her breathing. I couldn't hear a heartbeat, though.

Seryn, meanwhile, was stroking my hair affectionately and had wrapped all four of her wings around me, protecting me and creating a barrier around us at the same time. I also felt my shirt being gently yet firmly being lifted off my body. As it rose, I could feel her glossy fur rubbing against my bare skin. It felt so good that I was lost in a sea of pure bliss. She was taking my shirt off so I could experience her to the fullest. When it was all the way off, she pressed me even closer to her, as if she wanted to push me all the way inside of her. I couldn't move even if I had wanted to. I was enjoying this too much to object.

I must have blacked out for a moment because the next thing I knew, I was standing inside Seryn's plastic body as if I was wearing her like a suit. I stood there for a moment, unsure where I was, but then I realized what had happened.

"Seryn! Where am I?! What did you do to me?! Let me out of here!"

Seryn moved her arm with mine along with it to stroke her belly and purred. "Relax, Mana. I told you I wasn't going to hurt you and I don't intend to start now. Just go with me and I'll lead you through this."

I knew that I was completely at her mercy, so I gave up control of my body and let her do what she wanted. Seryn spread our arms and seemed to relax herself along with me. I then felt like she was starting to close in on me even more because that's what she was doing. Her body was losing definition and was wrapping all around me like a second plastic skin. Soon, she had completely encased me with herself, binding her body with mine until it we were so close together that I couldn't tell where I ended and Seryn began. It was like _I_ was the one made of plastic and she was just a second presence in my mind.

I held out my arm and felt it with my other one. It was a little tricky, but I managed to figure out that I _was_ made of plastic! Seryn had fused herself so closely with me that we were one with each other!

"Seryn... what did you do to me?" I asked her slightly quieter than last time. "I don't feel like I should."

"I've merged myself with you. Now we can go outside without suffering any ill effects." Her voice sounded like she was speaking directly in my ears, but that wasn't the strangest part.

"What do you mean by suffering "ill effects"?"

Seryn sighed and seemed to massage me by vibrating her body so that I was receiving a strange soothing sensation. "You're not going to like it, but I'll show you. Go over to the window and see."

I couldn't see what she was talking about, but I did like she had said and went over to the window. But what I saw was a little odd.

The entire city was covered in a strange thick fog. It was so thick that I could barely see anything in front of my face. I could barely see down to the ground from the third floor from here. But that was nothing compared to what I could _hear._ It sounded like people screaming and yelling like a war was going on minus the gunfire. Something was going on out there, but this fog was too thick to tell.

"What happened out here?" I asked Seryn, trying to see through the fog. "Is there some kind of storm going on?"

Seryn sighed and I could tell that it was much worse than that. "It's not even close to that. Let me show you what's going on."

Suddenly, my vision changed so that I could see through the fog like a kind of night vision but without the green. Down on the ground, I could see... how do I explain this? Hmm... Let's just say that it looked like a circus down there. There were balloons of all shapes and colors running around that looked like they were humanoid in shape. It kind of reminded me of Seryn, but most of them were only single colors. I could see an orange fox-man running around, a pink skunk woman, a red phoenix and a blue raccoon among others. I had never seen so many balloon animals in my life, much less human-sized ones and them running around.

"What... what happened out here? Why are there so many balloons out there?"

Seryn did not reply but instead gave a sudden shudder throughout our bodies and I suddenly understood everything. This "fog" was actually water that had been laced with a powerful latex chemical that when inhaled as a vapor, it could turn human skin into rubber and flesh into gas. Plus, it shifted a normal human's form into a random humanoid animal shape and color. In other words, the entire city had been turned into balloon animals!

"But... how did this happen? And... why hasn't it happened to me?"

Another shudder and my mind was filled in. It seems that Seryn's former "master" had stolen a government satellite and had fired it directly at this state. The only reason it didn't happen to me was because I was already inside of Seryn before I could breathe in that noxious mist.

On a hunch, I turned on the TV and looked at the clock that had been all over the network since yesterday. It had gone from under six hours to over 90 just like that.

"Seryn... this doesn't make any sense. Darkheart fired early. But why is the clock back up in the high numbers?"

One more shudder and the last piece of the puzzle was filled in. Seryn had been sent on a mission to gather a resistance to take on Darkheart, but she had been running out of time. Apparently, someone back up on the station had jumped the gun and had fired a less-intense shot at Minnesota to buy her more time.

"I see... but... I can't stay inside of you forever. If you're going up against Darkheart, you'll need more than just me, right?"

"I'm just here to protect you. I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to you so that you can help me piece together a resistance."

"But... why me? What makes _me_ so special?"

Seryn didn't have an answer to this. Instead, I felt my body start to quiver. Seryn was starting to separate from me, reinflating her body with me inside of it so that she and I were two separate beings again. Pretty soon, she was back to six feet tall again plus two feet of tail. But there was still a problem.

"I'm still in here, you know."

Seryn remedied this problem by taking a deep breath and forming an air pocket underneath me, pushing me up and out though her mouth. She opened her maw _wide_ and threw me up and onto the floor.

"Ohh..." I groaned, lying in a heap. "I'll never eat meat again after this."

But Seryn didn't seem to be quite done with me. As I lied there, she descended on me and sank her fangs deep into the back of my neck. I was paralyzed instantly and I could feel something hot and liquid being injected into my blood stream. Whatever she was inserting into my body was starting to burn it up like I was being stabbed with a thousand white-hot knives internally. And then it became suddenly frigid and I started to shiver uncontrollably.

By this time, Seryn had detached from me and was standing over me like a concerned parent. I tried to turn over to look at her, but I was so cold that I could barely move, much less speak.

"What... did you... do to... me?" I said through my teeth. "You... bit me!"

Seryn gently rolled me over with her paws so that I was laying face-up on the carpet, looking at her. "I had to, Mana. If I didn't, you would turn into a Balloonie like everyone else in just minutes. I hope you forgive me. I had no choice."

I guess she had the best intentions. Like she said, she was trying to protect me, and according to her, that's what she had done.

Now that I was beginning to regain control over my body, I was able to sit up with Seryn's help. "But... you poisoned me. How does _that_ help?"

Seryn held me close to her chest but not as close as she did earlier and stroked the spot on my neck where she had bitten me. "It's not venom. It's a special liquid that I had put inside of me to give to the one I chose to protect him from Darkheart's cure."

I was still a little unsteady, but with Seryn's help, I was able to get to my feet. "Darkheart's "cure"? It doesn't look like he "cured" anything out there with all that chaos."

Seryn sighed and help me stand straight. "That's what Darkheart believes. He thinks that by turning all of humanity into Synthetics, he is actually "curing" them of their meaningless, fleshy lives. It's very sad, actually. I was created from the fluid of a human who gave his life during Darkheart's reign."

I had to look at her for a moment before I fully understood this. "You mean, you're made out of a human's... fluids?"

Seryn sighed. "It's a little more complicated than that. Let's just say that we Synthetics have the ability to convert human flesh into a special fluid that we can turn into a Synthetic of our own design."

Against all odds, this actually didn't sound that bad. "Could you do it to me? I wouldn't mind being a Synthetic."

Seryn looked shocked. "I've never known anyone to volunteer for a conversion before. Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I am. If what you said is true, you can turn me into a plastic Flammie like you. Why not do it now?"

Seryn looked lost. She had never been faced with this decision before. In fact, _no_ Synthetic had ever been _asked_ to be converted; they normally did it whenever they felt like it. With a sigh, she looked at me with those baby-blue orbs of hers.

"I'll have to think about it. You have to remember that once you're converted, you can't change back. Wearing me as a second skin is one thing, but this is completely permanent. I'll tell you what: I'll spend the rest of today with you and show you the benefits of a Synthetic. If you're still sure about it in the morning, I'll respect your wishes and convert you."

I nodded and held my hand out. "Deal. I really want to become a Synthetic, but I want to know what I'm getting myself into before I commit to it."

Seryn smiled and took my hand in her paw, shaking it firmly. "I'll hold you to it."

I released her hand and I heard a distinct gurgling noise from somewhere inside Seryn's body. "Are you hungry?"

Seryn blushed as she rubbed her belly embarrassingly. "I guess so. I haven't eaten in a few days. Do you have any plastic that I could have for lunch?" I looked at her. "What? A Synthetic creature has to eat Synthetic grub, you know."

I couldn't argue with that, so I shrugged and said, "Let's see what I can find."

Sunday: 1:45 PM – 88:14:17 until cannon fires

Krystal and Vexx were on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs and their heads looking down. Darkheart had obviously found out about their little "accident" and being psychic, he knew exactly what they were planning.

At the moment, Darkheart was pacing in front of them, his mood absolutely livid. But like the sociopath that he was, he kept dangerously calm as he weighed up his options. He was trying to figure out what to do with them. On one hand, they had completely thrown his schedule off by firing the cannon early. But on the other, they had demonstrated just how effective his plan was by turning most of Minnesota into Synthetics. This would certainly get the attention of the country, but most of the world was still in the dark as to what the Rubber Revolution was capable of.

"I could destroy you right now and consume your bodies before making them into more loyal subjects..." Krystal and Vexx blanched a little from his idea. "...but since you two still have remnants of the humans I killed to create you, the entire idea would be completely pointless. This would then start all over again and I would never get anywhere with my plan. It's just a waste of good rubber." The two silently prayed for his slight change of heart. "But I'm not going to let you two off the hook so easily. If _two_ creatures could plot against me, I suppose I'd better make it less likely for my subjects to stab me in the back." The fox and dragon gulped. This was not a good thing.

Darkheart finally stopped pacing and turned to face the guilty Synthetics. "I've made up my mind. You two have betrayed my trust and therefore, you do not deserve to live the way you are." The fox and the dragon looked shocked. They knew they were busted and it was all over for them. "But I will not let your remains go to waste. I will use them to create a bigger, better creation; one that will take after my more _loyal_ servants such as Shannon and Ranshiin. Do you have any final words for me? (Not that it will do you any good.)"

Krystal and Vexx finally worked up the courage to look at their former master in the eyes. Darkheart actually flinched when he saw the hatred and obsession in their eyes.

"It doesn't matter what you do to us, Darkheart..." said Krystal with a hate in her eyes like he had never seen before. "We'll always fight for what is good in this world! Your entire empire will come crashing down when you are at the height of your power! We accomplished what we set out for. Seryn is coming to stop you and she's bringing reinforcements that are far stronger together than you are alone. You are going to pay for what you did, you... you SCUM!!!"

Darkheart's eyes went wide when he heard that last word. He had always referred to the human race as inferior scum, but he never dreamed that one of his own would call _him_ that!

His shock soon turned to anger. Spreading his wings, his eyes flashed a piercing-red and Krystal's body was suddenly engulfed with a matching aura. She did not look away as her body self-destructed right in front of her, her remains fluttering onto the ground in front of him.

Full of fresh rage, Darkheart rounded on Vexx, who had not flinched when his creator had been destroyed in front of him. "Anything to say, Vexx?!"

Vexx said nothing but instead hawked up and spat up in Darkheart's face! Darkheart stumbled backwards and held a hand to his face, the fury on his face beyond words. Full of rage towards his servants' last actions, he spun around and drove his tail spikes into Vexx's body, destroying him on the spot. Seething with rage, he scooped up all of their pieces and balled them up into a wad of various-colored rubber. Staring at it for a while, he popped it into the air and snapped it up like a hungry falcon, swallowing it on the spot.

After licking his chops, he chuckled to himself. "You taste even better than the human you were created from. I hope that together, you will become the most powerful servant I have ever formed. Until then, I will iron out all the kinks to make sure you are more loyal than any other Synthetic before you."

He licked his chops again and resumed his duties aboard the space station to prepare for when the cannon finally fired on schedule. And no amount of resistance from that plastic wash-up, Seryn was ever going to stop him. Even if she found enough vigilantes to stand a chance against him, there was still the matter of getting off the surface and into this space station without popping themselves. She did not possess a Teleport ability strong enough to break free of the atmosphere and still keep her body from blowing up from the difference in pressure. It was all going to be in vain...

Sunday: 2:35 PM – 87:24:56 until cannon fires

Watching Seryn eat plastic was one of the most unusual things I had ever seen before I met her. I had more than enough plastic bags, Styrofoam plates and disposable forks, spoons and knives to keep her fed for quite a while. And she wasn't exactly picky, making my menu even more beneficial to her. She seemed to savor her food instead of wolfing it down like some people I knew. And the way she at a plastic fork was rather unusual. She didn't even care that they came individually wrapped in a small, plastic wrap. To her, plastic was plastic and she bit straight through the fork and wrapper without any preference whatsoever.

And since Seryn was mostly transparent, you could look straight through her and watch her digest her food like it was just a part of her. When she finished chewing her plastic of choice, the shredded remains worked their way down an unseen passage and stopped roughly where a human's stomach was. The food would then warp and stretch and distort to become a kind of milky-white plastic liquid like it was being digested. Almost immediately, it would then spread out from her "stomach" and enter some kind of unseen capillary system, where it would thin out and spread out even thinner, finally disappearing altogether and being absorbed by her plastic body. According to her, the more plastic she ate, the thicker her body became and the less resistant to popping should the situation ever present itself.

"Wow..." I said in amazement as Seryn finally finished eating. "You're really something else, you know that?"

Seryn blushed and put her paw on my hand. "I guess I have that kind of effect on people."

"What else can you do as a Synthetic?"

Seryn thought about this for a moment. "Let's see... have you ever filled a balloon with water before?"

I nodded. "Many times."

"How about feeling the inside of a water balloon?"

"Uh... not really."

Seryn grinned. "Then you're in for a treat. I've been wanting to try this for a while." She spread her arms towards me. "But you'll need to be inside of me to get a proper feel for it."

I blinked. "Okay... just take it easy on me this time."

The two of us stood up and once again pressed our bodies close to each other. It still felt strange to be pressing up against a plastic furry, but it was just as pleasant as ever. And before I knew it, Seryn had "swallowed" me and I was once again inside of her.

"Just let your body go along with mine," she told me. "It will be a lot easier for the both of us to move with each other if you just relax."

I nodded and did my best to relax my body. Moving it without commanding it was a little awkward, but I learned to go along with it. And before I knew it, Seryn had brought us into my bathroom and inside my shower.

"I think that these are going to be a little much." I suddenly felt a tingly all over followed by a slight chill on my skin. When it finally subsided, I realized that Seryn had just turned my clothes into white plastic goo!

"Seryn! I'm naked in here! What are you doing?!"

Seryn purred and stroked her belly reassuringly. "Relax, Mana. This will feel much better without clothes."

It was very strange to be a naked human male inside of a furry Flammie female, but like she said, I went along with it. She then turned on the shower and let the water reach a decent temperature before she proceeded.

When she did, all Seryn had to do was open her mouth and the water began to flow inside her. I suddenly realized that I could drown in here if she filled herself all the way up!

But before I could respond, Seryn took a break in her guzzling to reassure me. "Remember my promise, Mana? I will not let anything bad happen to you. Just go with it."

Now that the water was reaching my waist, I realized that she had a point. Although she was being filled with water, I did not feel wet at all. It actually felt like my skin was filling up with a small layer of cushiony blubber. It was a rather strange experience, but as long as Seryn was in charge, I knew that I would be safe.

When she was completely filled with hot, fresh water, Seryn shut off the shower and climbed out of the bathtub and held her arms out a little. "How do you feel, Mana?"

Even though I was surrounded on all sides by a thin layer of water and plastic, I felt even better than I had ever felt in my life. It was like I was surrounded by a suit of liquid pleasure. Strangely enough, this was how human babies started their lives. I was more comfortable than I had ever been before and this warm, soothing feeling only added to my comfort. It was like I was back inside my mother, but this time, I could remember the feeling.

"I can't describe it, love. It's really something strange to feel from this perspective. I wish you could feel this."

Seryn smiled and poked her belly, giggling as the water inside of her jiggled around a little along with the human. "I _can_ feel it. You feel very nice inside of me. Are you enjoying it?"

"I am. But... how am I going to get out of here without drowning?"

Seryn continued to jiggle the water inside of her, tickling me a little as she rubbed her belly. "I don't think you're going anywhere anytime soon. The only thing I have left to show you is flying, but I'm going to wait until you've been converted to show you that. For now, I'm just going to leave you in there until I feel that you're ready to come out. Just relax and go to sleep. I will take care of everything until tomorrow."

Seryn moved herself around so that I automatically curled up into a fetal position and the water around me became much warmer, calming me down and sending me off into a deep and well-deserved sleep. She was really nice... and she really cared for me... really...

Sunday: 8:50 PM – 81:09:24 until cannon fires

It had been about six hours since Mana had gone to sleep inside Seryn's water-filled body, and Seryn was feeling rather satisfied at the moment. She knew that Mana would sleep rather well inside of her with all of the warm water that she had ingested. It was like he was sleeping inside a concerned mother and was patiently awaiting for his chance to be reborn. And while the feeling might have been unpleasant for an expecting mother, Seryn was a natural at holding a person inside of her. Not once did Mana kick or punch and the feeling of him floating around inside of her made her feel like she was being massaged from the inside out. It was kind of perverse, but that was how Synthetics worked and Seryn didn't think twice about it.

At the moment, Seryn was watching the news about the aftermath of the "attack" on the state of Minnesota. Because the CNN station wasn't in Minnesota, the reporters were all human. But it did not leave out the details of what had happened to the state. There were a few videos of the Rubber Revolution firing on the state and a few shots of the rubber animals that had been created by the contaminated mist. Fortunately, the people who were in the shots assured the viewers that they were the victims of the attack and that those traveling to Minnesota should not fear the balloon animals. Once the mist finally died down, Minnesota would do its best to go along with their lives like always, despite the fact that over 90 of the population were now Synthetics.

Seryn sighed as she turned off the TV. She had a pretty good idea who had bought her some time, but she wished that Krystal and Vexx could have warned her before they fired the cannon at the state. Millions of human lives were now changed forever and there was nothing that would ever fix that. But it would be a spit in the ocean for the billions of people worldwide that would be saved if she could just find a way to shut down that satellite. She knew that they had had no choice but to fire the cannon, but she felt relieved that they had fired it at a landlocked state instead of the ocean. There was no telling what kind of damage could have been done if they hat fired on one of the oceans next to the United States.

Seryn was about to let Mana's bobbing body will her off to sleep when she heard someone tapping on the balcony door. There was someone here, but she wasn't expecting anyone anytime soon. She got up and walked over to the door, sliding the blinds open.

To her great surprise, the figure of a great latex bird of destiny was standing in its anthro form on the balcony. Although she had never seen this one before, she knew what form it was taking. It looked like Darkheart, but she knew for a fact that Darkheart's body was violet and lavender. This one was sliver-white and sky-and-navy-blue.

A name popped into her head. "Rye?"

The Balloon Lugia shook its head. "Not quite. Try again."

The female voice was obvious. "Sirius?"

The balloon nodded. "The one and only. Now, are you going to let me in?"

Seryn nodded and slid the door open. The anthro Lugia walked in and looked her up and down. "Are you expecting?"

Seryn blushed as she poked the dark lump inside of her. "Shh... he's asleep. I'm letting him have one more good-night's sleep before he becomes a Synthetic."

Sirius blinked. "Already? But you two just met."

Seryn rubbed her belly, listening to Mana's slow and steady heartbeat inside of her. "It was _his_ idea. Ever since we met, he's fallen in love with me. He doesn't feel that his human life is worth living the way it is." She sighed and went to go sit back down. "So first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to convert him into a Synthetic Flammie. I've got a pretty good idea what he's going to look like, too."

Sirius nodded. "You've obviously given this a lot of thought. If that's what you two have decided, then I'm not going to stop you. In fact..." She looked down at her torso and stuck her hand inside herself. "There was something I wanted to give you for your fight against Darkheart."

Seryn watched curiously as she rummaged around inside herself for something. Over time, she had consumed enough latex to make her body almost completely solid, so Seryn couldn't exactly see what she was looking for. After a few moments, Sirius pulled out a beaker of strange blue liquid. It appeared to be generating its own light and it glowed slightly from behind the glass.

"It's pretty," said Seryn, taking the beaker from her and looking it over. It had been sealed with some kind of yellow wax so that it was completely airtight, but the light generated by the liquid looked to Seryn like she was holding a small star. "What is it?"

Sirius took the beaker back and examined it as well. "Believe it or not, but this is the potion that will get us into space where Darkheart is hiding out." When Seryn looked blank, she explained. "This is a copycat formula of the magic that Darkheart used to turn other Synthetics into Bio-Balloons."

Seryn's eyes went wide. "How did you get this?!" she said in a hushed voice. "Darkheart is supposed to be the only one who knows how to do that!"

Sirius smiled and sat down next to her. "Maybe mentally, but Aridos has been monkeying with a few mixtures and has come up with a way to make a potion form of it. Now you and Mana can use this to turn into Bio-Balloons and reach the Rubber Revolution Space Station."

Seryn looked at Sirius like all her dreams had come true. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me."

Sirius simply wrapped a wing around Seryn's shoulder, comforting her. "I do, actually. But keep in mind that you need to be completely empty before you use it. Otherwise, everything inside of you will be turned to liquid latex (or in your case, plastic) during the conversion." When Seryn's expression fell slightly, she added, "But that won't stop you from converting Mana. Your insides will still be able to convert him; you just can't have him inside you when you drink the potion."

Seryn took the liquid back and examined it for a moment. She then nodded and then looked back at Sirius. "Thank you, Sirius. But... there's only enough for two in here. I'm sure Mana will want to be a Bio-Balloon as well. What about you?"

Sirius simply shook her head and "cracked" her neck, the motion sounding like rubber against rubber. "I've got other things to worry about. I think I have the perfect trio to help bring Darkheart's empire crashing down in pieces, but I still need to contact them before too long. If I wait too long, they'll be on the other end of the world and I won't be able to reach them before they return."

Seryn nodded. "You do what you can. I'll do my part and stop that cannon from firing again. When Mana wakes up, I'll get right on it. Thank you for your help, Sirius. Give my regards to Rye and the children."

And with that, Sirius went back to the balcony and left Seryn with the blue liquid. She had places to be and she wasn't going to keep her from her duties. They were on the verge of war and things were going to get ugly before too long.

Before she took the potion, Seryn lied down on the floor and carefully regurgitated Mana so that he simply slid onto the floor without waking up. She then went back into the bathroom to empty herself of the still-hot water. She then closed the door and stuck a hair dryer down her throat so that she could air herself out. She wanted to be primped and preened to perfection before she became a Bio-Balloon. She had a feeling that when Mana first saw her "true" form, he was going to be all but speechless.

Once she was fully aired out, she dug one of her hard-plastic talons into the wax, boring a hole through it so that she could reach the liquid inside. She then went to the kitchen and found a cup where she could split the potion in half. One half would be for her to drink now. The other half would be for the Synthetic-to-be, Mana. Then with a deep breath, she opened her mouth and downed the potion in one swift gulp.

Once the potion was in her system, Seryn suddenly felt her body start to ripple. That was some fast-working potion! While she still had control over herself, Seryn went into Mana's room and closed and locked the door. She had no idea what she had gotten herself into, but she knew that it was for the best in the long run. She just wondered what Mana would think of her before it was all over and done with...

Monday: 7:30 AM – 76:29:17 until cannon fires

I woke up feeling less comfortable than I had while I had slept. It turned out that Seryn had regurgitated me onto the living room carpet and had disappeared from the room. I could not describe how wonderfully I slept inside of Seryn that night. It was like something out of a dream that gave me the best dream that I had ever experienced in my life. It was so amazing that words cannot describe how happy I was while inside of her last night. But like most good things, it all had to come to an end. Oh well... maybe she was giving me another taste of life as a Synthetic. This must have been just another test to make sure I was ready to become one.

When I got up, I realized that I was still naked from Seryn turning my clothes into goo while we were in the shower last night. I quickly made a beeline to my room to put something on... but the door was locked. I didn't get it. The only other person in my apartment was Seryn, but she didn't have a reason to lock herself in my room... did she?

"Seryn?" I said loudly, pounding on the door. "Are you in there?"

There was a slight groan from inside followed by a weary chirp that I recognized as Seryn's. At least she was safe.

"Can you let me in? I need to get some clothes on after you liquefied mine."

"Ohh... I'm coming, love. Just give me a minute."

I did so and heard her shuffling around inside. There was a moment's pause and then a purr of happiness before she spoke again.

"Okay, here I come!" She sounded pleased with something. Just what it was was revealed the moment she unlocked and opened the door.

Oh... my... I could have sworn that I had dies and gone to Heaven! Seryn's body had somehow transformed from clear plastic to real, pure-white fur! Her belly plates were leathery and completely solid and the rest of her was even more real than I had ever seen her before. The sight of her soft, angelic fur along with her feathery wings made me feel like I was looking at a real angel from Heaven.

Seryn looked at me with a smile while I was nearly speechless. I could not understand how she had turned from living plastic to flesh-and-blood practically overnight. I automatically found myself walking into the room with her looking me up and down with a smile. Sitting down on the bed, I watched Seryn close the door and then come over to stand in front of me.

"Seryn... I... You..."

Seryn simply put a talon over my lips and leaned over me. "Shh... don't speak. I want to make the most of this."

And with that, Seryn tackled me on top of the bed so that she was lying on top of my nude form. This advance was not sexual in anyway; we were just going to take pleasure in each other for a while. The feel of her fur was like something out of a fairy tale. It was so soft and warm that I thought I was going to faint from how relaxed I was feeling. Seryn didn't seem to mind that I was naked. She took it upon herself to explore every possible part of me that she could with her paws without invading my privacy. I felt like the luckiest person in the world! I had a Flammie for a friend – something that was completely impossible, but I was living in the impossible at this moment.

After a few minutes of cuddling, Seryn leaned over me and ran her paw through my hair. "Are you happy, Mana? Is this what you've always wanted?"

I sighed and looked up at her. "Yes... I've never been happier in all my life."

Seryn smiled and gave my face a small lick. "Good. Because there is one more thing I can do to make you happy."

I looked at her. "What's that?"

"I'm going to eat you."

I automatically forgot her promise to turn me into a Synthetic and crawled out from under her. "Wait a minute. I thought there was a better way of doing this. I didn't think you were going to make a _meal_ out of me! Besides, you're not a Synthetic anymore."

But before I could get away from her, Seryn managed to plunge a talon into my left thigh, an unknown chemical paralyzing me from head to toe instantly.

"You are wrong. I am what you call a "Bio-Balloon". on the outside, I am real, but inside, I am still synthetic. And it is my insides that are going to make you my own."

I was starting to panic now. I couldn't move and I had a Flammie that wanted to _eat_ me! To make matters worse, I was completely unable to defend myself against the inevitable. I couldn't believe that Seryn was going to go through with this.

She held me up to her eye level and gave my face a small lick on the cheek. She seemed to be _tasting_ me, which added further insult to this. But before she decided to go through with this, she held me close to her warm body, sending her warm body heat into my own. As she stroked the back of my head with her paw, she whispered gently in my ear.

"This won't be so bad, Mana. In the end, this will be better for the both of us when we are both of the same material."

I wasn't sure what to make of this when Seryn held me at arm's length so that the two of us were staring straight at each other. I flinched when I saw her lick her chops hungrily.

"Well, here goes. Besides... I want to see how you taste."

I would have been kicking and screaming if I could move at the moment. But since most of my body was unable to function at the moment, all I could do was close my eyes and brace for the end. Seryn took a deep breath and opened her mouth _super_-wide. If she wasn't a Bio-Balloon, this might have been a little difficult in her current size. And with that, she stuffed me headfirst into her mouth and I began the slow descent don her throat.

Every so often, Seryn would pause at regular intervals to give my bare body a lick with her wet tongue. She appeared to be savoring my unique "flavor" as I descended down her gullet. I could have sworn that human flesh did not taste that good, but I guess to a Synthetic, their taste buds functioned a little differently. I was being shoved into a tight, wet tunnel that I assumed was her throat, but for some reason, it smelled strongly of latex instead of body fluids. I guess what she said now made sense. She was real on the outside but was still plastic on the inside. And since plastic was made of a similar material to latex, it only made sense that she would smell like latex.

After slurping up my feet like a mouthful of noodles, I was all the way inside of Seryn. I though by now that I would have hit her stomach, but I was still surrounded by a wet, moist tunnel. But then, the area I was in suddenly hollowed out so that I was practically dumped into a dark, wet chamber that I assumed was her stomach. A thick, gooey liquid splashed down on top of me, coating me in the milky-white slime and making me smell pretty ripe of plastic. I instantly felt my body free from the numbing agent she had just used on me and I found that I could move around a little in here. But other than a cramped space full of latex-smelling liquid, there was little I could do outside of rolling around in a fetal position.

"Seryn!" I called to her. "Why did you do this?! I thought we had something together! But then _this_ happens and I'm going to be digested for who-knows-what!"

Seryn heard every word and gave her body a quick bounce, causing the plastic goo to splash all around me and coating my body even more. "Have you forgotten your commitment already, Mana? You _wanted_ this! You were as gung ho as I had ever seen you to become a Synthetic. You promised that you would do whatever it took to be at my side as a Synthetic. Do you remember now?"

Now that I thought about it, she was right. I _did_ say that I wanted to be a Synthetic when I first met her and I guess I must have forgotten during Seryn's "episode".

"But isn't this a little... extreme? I mean... did you have to _eat_ me to do it?"

I could feel Seryn nodding. "I promise you that it was the only way. If there was a more pleasant way, I swear I would have told you. Besides, then I would have missed out on your delicious taste."

I blinked as I felt my legs starting to fall asleep. They were starting to numb up and I couldn't move them as well. If there was any light in here, I would have noticed that they were starting to "goo-ify" and turn into thick, milky-white plastic goo. Soon, they would be completely useless and my torso would be next.

"That's disturbing, you know."

Seryn simply patted her belly and I could feel her purring. "Disturbing, yes. But it's all true. Humans are one of the most delicious things to a Synthetic. That's what Darkheart told me when he created me from a human's liquids."

That goo was moving fast. I was already starting to lose feeling in my chest. My organs were turning into plastic soup, but I was still alive somehow. This was just another way that magic could affect people without killing them. Soon, my arms became heavy and sluggish before they, too, became liquefied, leaving only my head left.

"Seryn... can you do something for me?" I said as my vision was starting to fail.

"And what would that be?" she said sweetly.

"Are you familiar with one called the "Mana Beast"?"

I didn't expect her to know, but against all odds, she said, "I am."

I was about to black out when I gave her my last request. "I want to be reborn as him. Please do this for me."

To show that she understood, she gave her belly a quick pat. "I'll do that. Now... sleep well, my dear Mana. Pass on from this life in peace and you will not be forgotten."

I sighed as I gave my last few words before I was reduced to a pool of liquid plastic. "See you... on the other side."

Monday: 11:30 AM – 72:29:43 until cannon fires

Seryn cooed as she felt Mana finally leave this world. But she kept his mind and soul contained inside of her because he was going to need it when she rebirthed him. The feeling of him dissolving inside of her tickled her tummy like someone felt the bubbles of a quickly-drunk soda inside their stomachs. She was now full of ten gallons of plastic human soup, which gave her a slightly bloated look. But unlike her former master, she was going to use every last drop of him to bring him back to the world the way he wanted.

Seryn was going to need some room to help rebirth Mana, and this tiny apartment simply would not do. So she decided to head for the hills and give him the benefit of all the space he needed to be reborn. Grabbing the beaker of potion that had turned her into a Bio-Balloon, she walked out onto the patio and spread her wings. By now, the tainted mist that had converted most of Minnesota had died down, leaving millions of animal balloons in its wake. She knew that this time, she would not stand out, so it did not bother her that she would be flying in broad daylight over a city of Synthetics.

Seryn spread each of her feathery wings and took off from the balcony, instantly gaining altitude and leaving Mana's apartment far behind her. She seemed to enjoy the feeling of feeling the wind flow over her new fur and feathers, making her realize the very reason why birds sang. It was just so enjoyable that she could not help letting out a cry of happiness over the city. It was just so... perfect.

As she reached the outskirts of the city, she suddenly felt like she was going to sneeze. There was a distinct build-up coming from deep inside her and she had to get rid of it before it overcame her. Pointing her head at the skies, she opened her mouth and fired off a super-powerful column of rose-pink energy. It was like she had just fired an energy cannon from her mouth and if she hadn't aimed upwards, she could very possibly have destroyed something important. The beam took about a second to fire and then dissolve from her maw, which made Seryn realize the true potential of the power inside of her. She now knew what Aridos had meant by the "true power" inside of her. (Author's Note: It was while Seryn was still with Aridos, but I didn't mention it until now because it was a "background story".) She knew that she could use this power to help shut down the cannon that Darkheart had stolen. The sheer power it contained could punch a hole in a diamond wall, so the space station would pose no problem at all.

Smiling to herself, Seryn settled down in the hills outside Willmar to find a place to rebirth Mana. She needed plenty of room, so she settled on a forest clearing where someone had once made a campsite some time ago. This would be perfect to bring Mana back into the world, so she got right on it.

Seryn rubbed her bloated belly for a moment as if to tell Mana that she was still there for him. She did not know if he could hear her, but pretty soon, that would be irrelevant. She took a deep breath and swallowed the air into her stomach. After pushing up on her stomach, she forced some of the fluids up into her throat and forced herself to "vomit" into her mouth. But unlike normal regurgitation, Mana's juices still tasted as wonderful as it had when she had first eaten him.

Seryn swirled the flavorful liquid around in her mouth, coating her tongue in the process. She then opened her muzzle just enough and began to blow. But instead of spraying fluids everywhere and wasting every drop, Seryn appeared to be blowing a bubble made of milky-white latex. The instant Mana's fluids mixed with her saliva, it created a catalyst to begin the solidifying process. And once it mixed with the air outside, it solidified into a plastic material not unlike a balloon in thickness and consistency. As Seryn continued the stream of liquid into her mouth, she blew the bubble bigger and bigger until she had used every last drop of Mana's juices in a reasonable ten-foot-wide balloon.

Just as she was about to spit the end of the bubble out, Seryn did a complex motion with her tongue and then bit down on the end. She then pulled the end out of her mouth and held the new plastic stopper in-between her talons. To the casual eye, it looked like Seryn was holding a massive milky-white weather balloon, but to Seryn, she was holding Mana's new, raw form in her paw as if she was holding him in her arms. She looked at her masterpiece for a moment before placing the stopper back in her mouth and blowing into it again.

The balloon did not get any bigger. In fact, it looked like it was getting _smaller._ It was beginning to take shape and definition into a crude form of a Flammie. This was going to be Mana's new form and it was exactly as he had requested. Seryn had never seen the Mana Beast in the game firsthand back in the apartment, but Mana's mind and soul gave her an image that she could use in the shaping of this balloon. It was like he was speaking to her spiritually even though his human form was no longer on earth.

When the plastic had taken the exact shape, form and definition that she wanted, Seryn pushed the stopper of the balloon into the back of Mana's neck and then examined her handiwork. It was exactly the way she wanted it except for the fact that it was still a pale milky-white color. But this was just the shell. She would soon fix that.

Seryn took another deep breath and gagged on something deep in her throat. Whatever she was regurgitating this time was really stuck there. She coughed and retched for a moment before what she wanted finally came up. And as though it didn't bother her, Seryn gave two small puffs of strange blue fire with a glowing-white core inside of them. The wisps fluttered over to the empty shell and drifted into its nostrils and mouth.

The first one contained the power of a Synthetic Flammie and seemed to dye the shell's body like a wave of energy. Within a few seconds, it was fully colored and the power it now contained would soon be evident.

The second wisp contained Mana's spirit, mind and soul and drifted into the shell's mouth. When it entered, it enhanced the shell to even greater detail that only a true living creature could give. It also brought Mana back to life in his brand-new existence.

Seryn only had one more thing to do. She walked up to Mana and pressed her muzzle against his, giving one more gentle blow that was a mix of a kiss and the Breath of Life. She then stood back and watched as Mana took his first breath in his new life.

Monday: 3:00 PM – 69:00:00 until cannon fires

I was finally able to open my eyes and look out into the world for the first time in my new life. I didn't need anyone to explain it to me – I just knew. I knew that I had been reborn as a Synthetic Flammie in Seryn's company and that was all that mattered to me. Feeling fresh, clean air enter my body was something that I would never forget. It was like you were being born again with the purest and most valuable breath you will ever take in your life. It was just that wonderful. I knew that after this breath, I would barely have to breathe again. But still, it felt as wonderful as Seryn's fur had felt against my former human skin.

Speaking of Seryn, the very first thing I saw was Seryn standing in front of me and smiling intently, tears forming in her eyes. I smiled back at her and the two of us embraced each other. It was strange to have plastic fur touching "real" fur, but I didn't care. All I cared about was that Seryn had held her end of the deal and had given me a new life – one that I would cherish forevermore.

Finally, the two of us separated and looked at each other. Seryn spoke first. "Welcome back, Mana."

I sighed and locked my wings with hers. "It's good to _be_ back, Seryn. I hope we will always be together."

Seryn giggled and stepped back so that she could take in the details of my new form. I did likewise and was pleased to see that she had held true to her promise. I now took the form of the Mana Beast from Secret of Mana. I was a Flammie in every way except for some main color differences and the fact that I now had _two_ fangs sticking out of each side of my maw instead of Seryn's one. The color differences were that most of my body was a deep, shadowy-violet, my hair, wings and eyes were a rich crimson-red and my pads and talons were a clear sapphire-blue. The only part of me that was still a match to Seryn were the goldenrod-orange plates on my front all the way down to my tail.

She had gotten every single detail correct and I was glad that she had been thinking about me, but one minor detail still bothered me. "Seryn... why am I a Plastic Flammie and you're still a Bio-Balloon?"

She seemed to have expected and produced a beaker half-filled with a strange glowing-blue liquid. "I got this as a present from Sirius the Latexed Lugia. This is how I turned my plastic body into "real" flesh and fur while my insides are still latex-based. I saved just enough for you to have the same luxury. With it, we can finally reach the satellite where Darkheart is hiding out. Here..." She handed it to me. "Drink it. It's good for you."

I laughed at her slight joke and she returned the humor. But then I looked at the potion with longing. After all the kindness she had shown me so far, she was still in a giving mood and had saved some of this special potion to give to me. I could hardly believe that she had once worked for Darkheart; she was just to kind to me.

I nodded and looked at her. "Here goes!" And with that, I opened my mouth and poured the liquid down the hatch. The instant it was all inside my "stomach", I felt my body start to shake all over. It looked like I was having a seizure, but I knew that this was a good thing. While my body was undergoing its conversion, I managed to give Seryn a sincere smile. "I love you, Seryn. shudder I hope that... unh... that we will never leave... guh... each other's side."

Seryn came over to me and wrapped her arms and wings around me to keep me stabilized during my final conversion. "I love you, too, Mana. When this is all over and done with, I hope we will live out our lives together in peace."

I tried to look up into her eyes, but a sudden pain in my stomach caused me to black out. When I woke up, I would be one step closer to living out my life with the one creature who had stood by me through thick and thin. That one creature could only be described one way – as a true friend.

Monday: 6:40 PM – 64:19:54 until cannon fires

From the control room up in the Rubber Revolution Space Station, Darkheart looked down at the world below him. He knew that Seryn and Mana were about to attempt to board his space station and try to shut it down themselves, but he was not worried. Not even his mother and father, Sirius and Rye could stand a chance against him with the kind of power he had now. They were all fools to try and challenge him in his current state, which would make his victory all the sweeter. In his current position, Darkheart was all but invulnerable. He had consumed more than enough rubber to render his skin all but impossible to puncture and in his current position, no one would be able to reach him in time to shut down his cannon and thwart his plans.

And if they somehow managed to find their way up to this space station, they still had to deal with his newly-created servant. He had used both Krystal's and Vexx's bodies to create a servant that not even Sirius could defeat. In fact, the servant in question was standing behind him, watching his master think. He had been honed to perfection and soon, he would prove just how powerful he was.

Darkheart chuckled and turned to his servant and looked up at him. "Are you ready for this? They will be arriving soon and I hope that you are as fit as you say you are. When they finally meet you, they will all tremble in fear from your great power."

The creature nodded and pulled his gauntlets tight against his paws. "I will not let you down, Master. They will all rue the day they decided to stand against the Lord of Synthetics himself. I will destroy them, no matter what form they take and I will present their remains to you as a gift of my loyalty. They will not live past their first hour!"

Darkheart nodded and turned back around. Everything was just perfect. In just under three days, the Rubber Revolution will fire and the entire world will be at his mercy. In fact, the _only_ ones who could stand in his way were...

But he didn't worry about it. They only cared for the well-being of the environment and would _never _team up with the others to try and overthrow him. His victory was inevitable and judging from the malevolence in his deep, dark laugh, he was as mad as Krystal had once said he was. It was just a matter of time...

**To be continued...**

Coming soon from shadowlugia249:

"Anthro Revolution Chapter 1: The Inflation Begins" – An original TF adventure

"Latex Lore Final Chapter: Rubber Revolution Revolt" – The final battle

"The Plushtopia Chronicles: Tails" – A Tails plush TF


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